Edward Vines wrote eight letters addressed to Maitlis and her mother expressing his “unrequited” love for her, which he attempted to send from HMP Nottingham between May 2020 and December 2021. A judge at Nottingham Crown Court told the 52-year-old he had shown “breathtaking persistence” in his attempts to contact his victim – saying it was clear he saw the restraining order as “irrelevant”. Jurors were told Vines had “systematically and with increasing frequency” breached two separate restraining orders imposed on him in 2002 and 2009 – with 12 breaches of his name and seven separate prosecutions. In one of his letters to the reporter, he told her he would “keep thinking and writing letters in prison” unless she spoke to him about her “behaviour” while they were together at Oxford University in 1990. Vines was previously tested in October last year. After the proceedings were halted due to medical issues, she wrote two more letters in which she tried to blame the journalist for not admitting that she was “attracted to him”. He denied eight charges of attempting to breach a restraining order but was unanimously convicted of all charges by a jury. Prosecutor Ian Way spoke of the defendant’s “insatiable desire” to speak to the BBC presenter while giving evidence at his final trial in July – with Vines admitting he would send her letters if he was released from prison. Vines had breached the restraining order on 12 previous occasions – including letters and emails addressed to Maitlis at the BBC. For the last two of his previous offences, Vines was jailed for three years after a judge said he feared “it doesn’t look like this will ever end” – describing the defendant’s behavior as a “lifelong obsession”. Despite a lengthy prison sentence and a restraining order, Judge Mark Watson told the defendant on Monday that he “remained undaunted and carried on [his] tries”. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He told Vines: “In my judgment you have shown breathtaking persistence and complete disregard for the order and procedures you have come to expect. This is just the latest chapter in a much bigger story. It seems that having left university and gone your separate ways, you then wondered about what could have been. “The existence of the order makes no sense to you. The only thing that prevents you from contacting her is your constant imprisonment. It’s an obsession you couldn’t escape from.” Maitlis interviewed the Duke of York in 2020, which led to Prince Andrew stepping down from official public duties after criticism of his unsympathetic tone and lack of remorse for his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The broadcaster and her mother declined to give a victim impact statement to the court ahead of the sentencing hearing.
