A DRUNK man filmed himself verbally abusing Workington MP Mark Jenkinson before posting the footage on Snapchat and added further insults in a Twitter post.

Mr Jenkinson was inside Seaton’s One Stop shop at 9.10pm on April 30 when he encountered Jonathon Penrice, who had been drinking since just after midday.

Having selected a coffee, the MP went to choose some chocolate when Penrice, 27, began verbally abusing him. Penrice held up his phone and came within a few feet of Mr Jenkinson, who told him to “wind his neck in”, Workington magistrates’ court was told.

As Mr Jenkinson went to get his coffee, he heard Penrice say: “If he comes around here I’ll smash his face in.” As the MP walked to the counter, he saw Penrice still holding the phone in front of him, saying: “What are you going to do? I’ll smash your face in.”

Mr Jenkinson had later said: “My hands were full at that point, and I was remaining calm.”

Penrice left the store. “At this point I felt quite apprehensive that the male could be waiting outside,” Mr Jenkinson had stated. “However, when I left he was nowhere in sight. The incident has left me quite shaken and worried about what could happen the next time I bumped into the male.

"I feel this is beyond what any reasonable person should expect to (encounter) in public, and I’m grateful that my children had stayed in the car and didn’t witness this.”

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Penrice later uploaded the video to a private Snapchat story and, while still drunk, had left an abusive reply — later deleted — to a post by Mr Jenkinson about the incident on Twitter. He had written: “Perhaps stop ripping off the public and I’ll behave.”

Penrice, of Clarendon Drive, Whitehaven, admitted a public order charge in court having made full and frank admissions when interviewed by police.

“He says that whilst drunk he must have thought he was invincible,” said prosecutor Pam Fee, “and states his behaviour was unacceptable.”

Sean Harkin, defending, said the defendant was “thoroughly ashamed of himself”, adding: “It is aggravated by the fact that the victim is an MP and he is entitled to go about his business without that kind of abuse.”

Penrice was in full-time work and a full-time carer for his grandmother, a dementia sufferer.

“She played a huge role in bringing him up and he is repaying the favour,” said Mr Harkin. “The stress of that has got to him on this occasion. He has had a bit of a blow out and has drunk too much. That is an explanation for his behaviour although it is no excuse.”

Penrice was made subject to a 12-month community order and must complete 80 hours’ unpaid work.

Lead magistrate Charlotte Wood told the defendant she was “disgusted” with his criminal conduct. “This is just totally unacceptable,” she said.

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