‘I asked if the council would pay for this to be investigated’: Woman discovers anonymous letter in late mother’s belongings, then realizes who wrote it

Gerard Woodhouse, 62, was a well-known charity worker and former Liverpool Labour councillor. Now he’s facing possible jail time after admitting he sent around 100 hateful anonymous letters to a former lord mayor. He pleaded guilty to harassment without violence, sometimes sending up to five letters in one day.

For years, his former colleagues suspected he was behind a widespread hate mail campaign. Many people had complained, but there was no solid proof linking him to the letters until recently. According to the BBC, the evidence that finally caught Woodhouse came from an unusual place: his own social media post.

Kevin Robinson-Hale, a former Labour member who switched to the Green Party, had received an abusive letter written in red pen during the pandemic. When he showed it to others, they recognized the handwriting as Woodhouse’s.

The social media post that confirmed everyone’s suspicions

In March 2023, Robinson-Hale saw something on social media that proved his theory. Woodhouse posted what he called a “powerful letter from one of our children” during Right To Food Week. The letter was supposedly written by a child at the community center where Woodhouse worked, asking then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for free school meals. Robinson-Hale immediately recognized the handwriting.

“I thought, I don’t think I’ll be getting hate mail from a kid like that,” he said. The handwriting looked exactly the same as the abusive letter he received. He sent it to other targets, and they all agreed it was “Gerard’s writing, basically.”

The BBC asked forensic handwriting expert Lis Briggs to examine both letters. Briggs, who works with police forces, found strong evidence that the same person wrote both letters. She said it’s unlikely two different people were responsible.

The abuse campaign had been going on for years. Kay Davies, a Liverpool councillor who had a falling out with Woodhouse, found an anonymous letter in her late mother’s belongings in 2022. The letter had been sent to her mother back in 2018. Similar cases of people discovering problems after routine service have shown how important it is to investigate suspicions thoroughly.

Reading the letter made Davies cry. It said the writer felt sorry for her mother and used horrible language, claiming her mother had “spawned the ovum of a devil” and that Davies was a disappointment. Her elderly father had written “Liar” on the envelope, showing how upset they were.

Another victim, Michelle Langan, 52, started getting typewritten hateful letters at her home in 2021. They continued for about three years and even arrived at her business. “Every time one of those typewritten letters came through my door, I just felt sick to the pit of my stomach,” she said. Langan suspected someone in the party was misusing internal membership lists since some targets weren’t public figures.

Woodhouse had built a reputation as someone who helped the poor through his work with the L6 Centre. He got regular press coverage for stories about struggling families. But despite years of suspicions and evidence given to police by Langan, the breakthrough only came this summer. Just as a mechanic’s close inspection revealed unexpected issues with his daughter’s vehicle, forensic examination finally uncovered the evidence needed.