YouTube has removed a video posted by Alex Belfield, a former BBC radio presenter who was jailed in September 2022 for a campaign of stalking. The removal came after Nottinghamshire Live flagged the video to the platform. The content was condemned by one of Belfield’s stalking victims as "abhorrent."
Belfield was sentenced to five years and 26 weeks in prison after being found guilty of stalking multiple individuals, including two BBC presenters, a videographer, a theatre blogger, and well-known BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine. The court stipulated that Belfield would serve half of his sentence in custody and the remaining half on licence. As a result, he is due for release from HMP Fosse Way in June 2024.
Since his incarceration, Belfield’s YouTube channel, ‘Voice of Reason,’ has featured videos promoting his plans to write six books and embark on a tour. The most recent video, posted on Easter Sunday, included an AI-generated version of Belfield's voice over a custody image. This video notably denied the crimes for which Belfield was convicted and made false allegations about his court case.
Nottinghamshire Live’s notification to YouTube led to the removal of this video along with several others from Belfield’s channel. YouTube has issued a "strike" against the channel for violation of its harassment policies. Such strikes can lead to suspension if further violations occur. The platform confirmed that over 720,000 videos were removed in the last quarter of 2024 alone for breaching harassment guidelines.
Belfield’s convictions include stalking to cause alarm and distress to BBC Radio Northampton’s Bernie Keith and videographer Ben Hewis, as well as "simple stalking" of theatre blogger Philip Dehany and Jeremy Vine. Alongside these, indefinite restraining orders were imposed not only for the four stalking victims but also in relation to four women from whom he was cleared of stalking allegations.
Liz Green, a former BBC Radio Leeds presenter who is one of the women protected by an indefinite restraining order, welcomed YouTube’s decision to remove the videos. Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, she described the ongoing appearance of such videos while Belfield is imprisoned as "astonishing," adding, "I'm glad that they've taken this down after your intervention. This is about attention, which he thrives off, and money."
Green was particularly disturbed by the content of the most recent video, which criticised Judge Saini—the judge who sentenced Belfield—and his wife. The video falsely implied corruption related to their roles in investigating the BBC's handling of Tim Westwood, a claim Green labelled "abhorrent and not true." She further questioned the effectiveness of Belfield’s imprisonment given his continued activity online: "What is the point of him being in prison if he's allowed to do this? The fact that he still thinks he's being funny from behind bars tells us a lot about this individual."
In addition to his prison sentence, Belfield’s website presents himself under titles like "The Convicted Talker" and claims to be "Officially a political prisoner since 2023." There are references to his intention to perform in a "Jack & The Bean Stalker" panto, indicating continued attempts to engage with the public and minimise his convictions. Belfield has repeatedly joked about his offences while incarcerated.
The BBC has recently issued an apology to Liz Green and three other women formerly employed by the corporation for not taking sufficient action against Belfield sooner. Throughout his time producing YouTube content, Belfield often criticised the BBC, asserting that his imprisonment was a consequence of speaking out about the corporation. This assertion was firmly rejected by Mr Justice Saini during sentencing, who clarified, "I find that the motivating factor in your communications about these complainants was not the exercise of journalistic freedom to comment on matters of public interest, but personal grudges and responses to real or apparent slights."
YouTube confirmed that Belfield’s channel has previously been penalised, including suspension of monetisation rights in 2022 and temporary bans on uploading content due to harassment violations. A spokesperson for YouTube stated, "Over the years, we've removed several videos from 'The Voice of Reason' channel for violating our community guidelines, including around harassment... We have clear policies that apply to everyone, which we rigorously enforce."
The removal of Belfield’s recent videos comes as part of ongoing efforts by platforms to enforce policies against harassment and abusive behaviour online.
Source: Noah Wire Services