Aberdeen television presenter Isla Traquair tonight hit out after a judge spared her relentless stalker prison time, saying: “I cannot feel safe while he’s free.”
The former STV and Channel 5 newsreader was forced to flee her idyllic 1700s country cottage on the edge of the Cotswolds to escape neighbour Jonathan Barrett’s “campaign of vengeance”.
The 54-year-old was found guilty of stalking Ms Traquair during a trial at Salisbury Magistrates Court.
But Barrett today avoided jail when he was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and ordered to pay £715 in costs.
Reacting to the sentence, Ms Traquair said: “The criminal proceedings may have ended today but my ordeal has not.
“He’s going to have to work 300 hours for free, but I’m not convinced that that’s going to make him stop being a stalker.
“I cannot feel safe while he’s free. I cannot go and live in my house now.”
Earlier, Ms Traquair appeared via live link at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court in Wiltshire to personally describe the “devastating” impact of Barrett’s actions.
She broke down as she tearfully explained to a court how “weird” Barrett’s behaviour had been more terrifying than “confronting murderers” in her journalistic work.
The 42-year-old said: “Things got so bad I had to leave my home suddenly, throwing things into a carrier bag and grabbing my dog in my arms, while a friend’s husband collected me late at night so I could sleep on their sofa.
“I’ve had to rely on the kindness of numerous friends to take me in so I could at least temporarily feel safe over many months.
“His behaviour has cost me my health, mental health, prevented me from being able to work, go outside into my own garden. I have been riddled with anxiety and in a constant state of fight, flight or freeze.
“I couldn’t even write up statements for the police without being interrupted by his intrusive actions.
“The cost to me financially has been huge. My loss of income being unable to concentrate on work has been huge. My health has suffered. I couldn’t eat properly, I couldn’t sleep properly.
“There is no excuse to justify his campaign of vengeance, a campaign I believe was triggered when I identified something was not right with his constant presence, increasingly alarming observational comments, unhealthy interest and awareness of my movements which led to me politely withdrawing to create healthier boundaries.”
Stalker was ‘fixated’ with journalist
Barrett’s stalking took place between March and September 2021 and eventually led to her fleeing her home address.
He shocked Ms Traquair soon after she moved into her home in Wiltshire by climbing over her garden wall and then entering her house to offer her a sandwich.
The former Press and Journal journalist became so fearful of her neighbour that she spent thousands of pounds fortifying her home with fences and security cameras before leaving late one evening to stay on a friend’s sofa.
Barrett denied stalking or harassing his neighbour and even claimed it was she who had become ‘fixated’ on him.
He was also previously handed a restraining order to not contact Ms Traquair or to enter or look into her property for one year.
Aberdeen TV presenter Isla Traquair opens up about devastating impact from stalker
Prosecutor Alicia Doble had told Barrett’s trial last month that Ms Traquair was a “relatively well-known journalist”, and explained Mr Barrett became “obsessed” with her after she moved into the home next to his.
When Barrett was arrested in July last year he told officers he thought Ms Traquair “petty” and claimed she had “divorced a wealthy man who runs a hire company up in Scotland”, adding “because of her job, she knew which buttons to press with the police”.
Barrett, who lives in a £380,000 one-bed semi-detached home next to Ms Traquair’s in the village of Corsham, was convicted of one charge of stalking following his trial.
Lead Magistrate Mina Searles warned him he could be sent to prison if he failed to adhere to requirements imposed by the court.
Mrs Searles told him: “I am going to give you a warning: if you break any of the requirements your sentence could be increased. This can include going to jail.
“I am obliged to remind you there is a current restraining order. If you breach that, you can be arrested and brought back to court.”
‘I will never be who I was before’
Barrett was also ordered to pay costs amounting to £715.
After the hearing, Ms Traquair told the Press and Journal that it’s going to take time for her to recover from the ordeal.
“I am forever changed because of this and I will never be who I was before,” she said. “Carefree is a word I cannot relate to anymore.
“I find it really hard to feel any sense of joy even in situations where you should be happy. It’s horrible.”
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