Top judges stalked in campaign of ‘personal and unpleasant vendettas’, jury told
The court heard that the former chief magistrate of England and Wales, Sir Paul Goldspring, was sent antisemitic and Holocaust related messages - despite him not being Jewish
A father who was unhappy with the outcome of his divorce proceedings targeted some of Britain’s top judges in a stalking campaign, a jury has heard – including allegedly sending a variety of antisemitic and Holocaust related messages to one of them, despite the recipient not being Jewish.
Following a bitter divorce in 2009, Richard Kendal allegedly stalked and harassed Sir Andrew McFarlane, now the retired president of the Family Division at the Royal Courts of Justice, and the Chief Magistrate of England and Wales Sir Paul Goldspring.
Sir Paul’s legal adviser and researcher Elizabeth Hardy, as well as Kendal’s ex-wife Ruth Garner are also alleged victims, Kingston Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Laura Blackband told the court: “Unfortunately the divorce was far from amicable as Mr Kendal appears to have been unable to move past the end of his marriage.
“Following his dissatisfaction at the outcome of the original divorce proceedings and ancillary financial matters, he has devoted his energy over years into pursuing vexatious litigation against his ex-wife, waging personal and unpleasant vendettas against some of the judges – including Sir Andrew McFarlane and Sir Paul Goldspring – and engaging in intimidation and threats to his ex-wife.”
The jury was told that Kendal, 62, of Wandsworth, south London, is not fit to stand trial because he suffers from psychosis involving a persistent delusional disorder.
Their role is not to consider whether Kendal is guilty of the alleged offences but to decide if he did the acts with which he has been charged.
Kendal is also charged with an offence of stalking involving fear of violence in relation to Sir Andrew between January 2021 and July 2025.
He is also charged with having stalked Sir Paul and an alternative offence of racially aggravated stalking between January 2024 and July 2025.
Kendal is accused of stalking Ms Hardy and of breaching of a non-molestation order that was aimed at protecting Ms Garner.
She received 33 “highly abusive” emails in the space of around five months in breach of the order which left her feeling “worn down”, she told the court on Tuesday.
The order was to last indefinitely and sought to stop Kendal from allegedly using or threatening violence, intimidating or pestering her or their two children.
Threats and abuse was weaved into topics about money, family relationships and mixed in with legal proceedings, Ms Garner recalled.
Ms Blackband told the court that since the High Court order was imposed Kendal “persisted in stalking and harassing a number of judges who he believes are complicit in preventing him resolving his issues around the divorce proceedings”.
In 2021 Sir Andrew was aware Kendal had repeatedly appeared before judges and issued various vexatious applications. He was aware that Kendal regularly criticised judges and threatened them with criminal prosecution, the court heard.
It is alleged that in January 2021 Kendal sent an email referring to Sir Andrew’s heart surgery which said: “Your days are over McFarlane. You need to focus before you are made to regret ever waking up off that operating table last July. You have a narrow window before I release the hounds.”
Ms Blackband said police went to Kendal’s home in June 2021 as a result of the emails to Sir Andrew and abusive letters to another 50 or so other judges.
Having been arrested in June 2021 he was bailed and went on to commit further offences involving Sir Paul, it was alleged.
In January 2024 Sir Paul received an email asking him to consider an application to consider a private prosecution against Mrs Justice Arbuthnot – his predecessor, a High Court judge he has known for about 11 years who is a colleague and a personal friend.
Sir Paul passed the matter over to a different judge.
Ms Blackband added: “But Sir Paul realised, however, he had triggered Mr Kendal’s deep suspicions of a judicial conspiracy to cover up matters against Mr Kendal who continued to send numerous further emails, the tone and contents becoming more conspiratorial and unpleasant, targeting Sir Paul both personally and professionally.
“These emails included repeated threats of arrest, exposure, and imprisonment, veiled and direct threats of personal violence, threats referencing Mossad and implications Sir Paul would be assassinated or murdered, antisemitic language and Holocaust-related slurs, despite the fact Sir Paul is not Jewish.”
Twice in April 2024, Kendal personally attended Westminster Magistrates’ Court to “confront” Sir Paul, the prosecution claimed, saying the judge found this “deeply concerning” given the “hostile correspondence received”.
Despite not being Jewish, Sir Paul found the antisemitic messages “particularly upsetting”.
In his police interview, Kendal said his emails had been hacked by a Government legal department.
Ms Hardy’s work included reviewing and actioning emails sent to the Chief Magistrate’s Office Enquiries mailbox and she saw emails from Kendal directed towards the most senior judges in the magistrates’ court system – Sir Paul and Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram.
She told the court: “I did not see him (Kendal) as a keyboard warrior. I did think he posed a genuine risk.”
The legal adviser was cast as a “loyal sidekick” to the senior judges in the emails, which included a death threat declaring they would be cut up “into little pieces”, the court heard.
Ms Hardy described this as the ongoing efforts of a “very desperate man who is not getting what he wants from the three of us”.
She added: “I was scared the he would try something. Would he try to cut me up into little pieces? Probably not, but I thought he might harm us in some way.”
In July 2025, Kendal was issued with a banning letter stopping him from attending Westminster Magistrates’ Court if he did not have business there, which is “a decision that isn’t taken lightly”, Ms Hardy added.
Geoffrey Israel, defending, suggested that Kendal was frustrated with the legal system and wanted to “punish these judges by putting them through a legal trial and imprisoning them”.
Mr Israel suggested any violence in the messages were “not a threat to murder but about how careers are going to be ended, according to Mr Kendal”.
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