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Public hearing application in the case of Alex Belfield

You will find below a summary of the application for the oral hearing of Alex Belfield to be made public.

• From: Parole Board
• Published: 23 April 2026

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Proforma for Representations

MS Word Document, 241 KB

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Details

Parole Board Chair – Alexandra Marks

It is the Board Chair’s preliminary view that it is in the interests of justice for the case to possibly be heard in public. A summary of the reasons are:

1. The nature of the offence. Mr Belfield was convicted of offences of stalking and stalking with intent to cause alarm or distress. The offences took place over a period of some 10 years and were against four different victims, three of whom were previously unknown to Mr Belfield.

2. This is a noteworthy case, and it is an unusual feature of the case that, except for the victim previously known to Mr Belfield, people were selected online and targeted for serious abuse. All the offences were committed online.

3. Mr Belfield was sentenced to a determinate period of 66 months in custody in 2022. Restraining orders were made against him in respect of the four victims and an additional four people in respect of whom Mr Belfield has been charged.

4. Mr Belfield was released on licence on 12 June 2025. He was recalled on the 16 February 2026. The circumstances of his time on licence are complex and layered and his recall described to be because of “cumulative concerns over an extended period”.

5. There is public interest in this case. The use and misuse of internet communications and websites are the subject of public debate and are of interest to the public, experts, politicians of all parties and industry representatives.

6. The risk assessment and management of Mr Belfield, particularly following his conduct whilst on licence and circumstances of his recall, are such that public confidence will be assisted by scrutiny of the Parole Board’s decision making.

If anyone wishes to make representations regarding this application the Parole Board Rules now allow for submissions from the press and public. There are five working days from publication in which to do this. You can make these representations via the proforma attached on this page. Proforma for representations - GOV.UK

The deadline for representations is midday on Thursday 30 April 2026

Published 23 April 2026