A JOURNALIST appeared in court today charged with stalking former chancellor George Osborne and his wife Thea Rogers for more than a year.

Lydia Suffield, 27, is said to have sent emails and Instagram messages to the couple and to have filed false referrals to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children charity between June 8 2022 and July 5 last year, Westminster magistrates’ court heard.

Prosecution lawyer Rhianne Neil said the defendant had also contacted close friends and family of the couple as well as work colleagues.

She said that Ms Suffield’s allegations against the couple included drug abuse and that the accused had sent them a present said to be for their young children.

This prompted the couple to pay for extra security at their wedding, Ms Neil said.

Ms Suffield, a freelance journalist, spoke only to confirm her name, age and address and to enter a not-guilty plea.

Alexandra-Maria Eugenicos, defending, told the court that any communications sent by her client were in her professional capacity as a journalist.

District Judge Annabel Pilling sent the matter to crown court for a trial.

Ms Suffield, from Liverpool, will appear at Isleworth Crown Court on January 6 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.