An anti-vaccine campaigner jailed for stalking a leading island scientist has been fined after being found guilty of breaching a restraining order.

Courtenay Heading was jailed for eight months in 2024 after being convicted of harassing Dr Rachel Glover, the scientist who was instrumental in setting up the island’s Covid testing lab during the pandemic.

He was also banned from contacting her - including copying her into emails - or making any posts on social media mentioning or referring to her.

But on August 24 last year he published a post on X which referred to ‘criminal murderous Isle of Man jab peddlers’ and named four individuals including Dr Glover.

On Friday last week, Heading, 68, of Richmond Road, Ramsey, appeared for trial at the Deputy High Bailiff’s court.

The restraining order, made under the Protection from Harassment, prohibits him from contacting Dr Glover by any means whether directly or indirectly, including cc'ing in to any email, and from making any post on social media which directly mentions, or could reasonably be said to refer to, Dr Glover and/or her company Taxa Genomics Ltd.

In his defence, Heading said he had made the post in error at a time of considerable stress.

But following the trial, he was found guilty.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood fined him £750, and ordered him to pay £1,250 in prosecution costs. He will pay at £10 per week or face 80 days in jail in default.

At his trial in 2024, the court heard Heading had mounted a ‘smear campaign’ against Dr Glover, blitzing her with hundreds of emails and social media posts containing unfounded allegations relating to her work during the Covid period.

Dr Glover told the court that the emails from began in late 2017 with claims about the HPV vaccine, but then escalated significantly during the pandemic.