A barrister and his wife, a law firm partner, have been accused of carrying out a campaign of "embarrassment and threats" against the man's ex-lover. The pair are standing trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of stalking and breaching a restraining order.

Prosecutor David Sapiecha told the court how, when Jonathan Simpson's affair with a woman ended, he continued to contact her "despite being verbally warned by the police to desist". A harassment order was made in October 2014 and then a restraining order, but Simpson, a criminal barrister at Charter Chambers in London, allegedly ignored both. He is accused of initially sending her flowers and attempting to contact her via her father. Then, of approaching an ex-partner of the woman on a train and "talking loudly about his sexual relationship with her" until "eventually" he was "moved by a train inspector".

His wife, Katherine Simpson, also became involved. Mrs Simpson, who is the head of residential real estate at London firm Pemberton Greenish, wrote to the father of the woman's child in 2015 to inform him, "My husband had an 18 month affair with the mother of your child. She has a lot to learn about affairs with married men and telling lies".

She continued, "Her attempt to steal my husband through her attempts at sexual and emotional manipulation will be my unmaking. Two can play at that game. I have more material than you could possibly imagine concerning her escapades. CCTV has already captured far too much of her and Jonathan." Mrs Simpson told him to persuade the woman to drop the restraining order and "stay out of Winchester", and in another letter told him, "Her lies to the police will threaten hers and [her child’s] well-being forever".

    "The Siiiimpsuuuuns"

The pair are even accused of turning up at the woman's child’s school to leaflet parents at the gates about her, while Mr Simpson is alleged to have also written to the child's father, to say that he was considering writing a book about the affair.

Sapeicha said that the allegations "are in essence that both defendants carried out a campaign of embarrassment and threats against the woman", suggesting that "It might be that they felt the restraining order was an emblem of shame - there may well have been elements of revenge".

A spokesman for Pemberton Greenish declined to comment on the basis that criminal proceedings are continuing.
 
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