Katie Wallis, formerly known as Jamie Wallis and the UK’s first openly transgender Member of Parliament, has pleaded guilty to harassing her ex-wife, Rebecca Lovell.
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Wallis, 41, who served as the Conservative MP for Bridgend from 2019 to 2024, admitted to engaging in a campaign of harassment between 14 February and 21 March 2025. The harassment involved multiple unwanted phone calls, messages, and a voice note directed at Lovell, with whom she shares two children.
The plea was entered at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, ahead of what was meant to be the start of her trial. District Judge Rhys Williams accepted the guilty plea and set sentencing for 14 July.
Wallis, addressing the court, stated: “Legally I am known as Jamie, but I prefer to be known as Katie.” She is widely recognised as the first MP in British history to publicly begin the process of gender transition while in office.
The court heard that Wallis and Lovell had been in a relationship for over 15 years, separating in 2020. Their divorce was finalised in 2024. Prosecutor Simone Walsh told the court that Wallis’s behaviour changed following news that Lovell had entered a new relationship.
“The frequency, nature, and contents of the messages and voicemails amounted to harassment of the victim,” Walsh said. “Despite being arrested on February 28 and released on bail, the defendant continued to send messages.”
To protect Lovell during proceedings, a screen was installed in court to prevent face-to-face contact with Wallis.
Defence counsel Narita Bahra KC explained that Wallis had taken “the very pragmatic view” to plead guilty after recognising the toll the case had taken on Lovell. She added that a psychiatric report and pre-sentence assessment were required to explore how Wallis’s mental state and ongoing gender transition may have influenced her conduct.
“Dr Wallis was at a crucial stage in her transition,” Bahra said. “She was coming out full-time and had little support. Her mental health spiralled during that period, and she was reaching out. The complainant also took issue with her transition.”
Bahra also claimed that Lovell had selectively provided messages to the police, omitting some of the communication between the two.
The prosecution dropped a separate charge of stalking, offering no evidence on that count.
This latest development marks another chapter in the high-profile journey of Wallis, who made history in 2019 by becoming the first Conservative to win the Bridgend seat since the 1980s. In March 2022, Wallis came out publicly as transgender, revealing a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and expressing a desire to transition after struggling with her identity since childhood.
Her announcement followed a widely reported incident in which she crashed a Mercedes while wearing high heels and a black leather mini-skirt, fleeing the scene before being arrested in bed hours later. Wallis later disclosed she had been raped and blackmailed, and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time.
The revelation of her identity drew widespread support across the political spectrum, with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson describing her as “incredibly brave.”
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