Man who tried to blackmail venues to cancel Katie Hopkins's shows has been found guilty

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

1 September 2026

There is no doubt that Katie Hopkins is a polarising public figure who has never been shy to express her views. It is a free country — for now — and nobody has the right not to be offended.

But there are some individuals out there that want to use sinister tactics to target and silence those that do not share their worldview. This is a sad reality in modern Britain.

A 32-year-old man from Southampton, Oliver Hutchings, objected to comments that Katie Hopkins had made about gay and transgender people. Instead of deciding to avoid the venues that were due to host her shows, he resorted to launching a blackmail campaign against these venues in a bid to get Katie's appearances cancelled.

On 20 August, Mr Hutchings was convicted of four charges of blackmail in Southampton Crown Court by a jury made up of five men and seven women.

Jurors had been told that Hutchings warned the venues due to host Ms Hopkins that, if they failed to cancel the event, he would personally ensure the show was disrupted. He told the venues he would arrange for people in the audience to shout, make noise and set off party poppers to disrupt the event.

Hutchings sought to blackmail the venues via Facebook, phone and email. It was reported in The Daily Echo that Hutchings had allegedly told venues that he had reported them for watering down their drinks and for failing to carry out thorough employee background checks. Hutchings reportedly told one venue that he had successfully deployed these tactics before against other venues that had booked the comedian Jim Davidson.

In the end, The Attic in Totton and the Joe Longthorne Theatre in Blackpool cancelled Ms Hopkins's planned shows after being subjected to Hutchings's vicious blackmail campaign.

This sinister campaign against Hopkins led to venues cancelling her shows, which resulted in a substantial loss of earnings. Ms Hopkins had told the court that, thanks to the actions of Hutchings, the cancellations spread like "dominos" and reduced her planned 30-venue tour in 2022-2023 to just five. This caused an estimated loss of £265,000 in earnings.

Whatever your view of an individual or their views, intimidation and intentionally preventing someone from expressing them are not acceptable. The tactics used by Mr Hutchings are not only morally wrong, but also criminal. Blackmail is indeed a criminal offence. If Mr Hutchings wanted to stage a peaceful protest that did not prevent the event from taking place, launch a petition or call for a boycott — so be it. But using coercive tactics that harm already-struggling businesses, and that deprive an individual of their ability to earn a living, simply because you dislike their views, is woefully unacceptable.

At an earlier hearing, reported by The Guardian in November 2025, the prosecutor, Simon Jones, said: "Katie Hopkins is a well-known TV personality. In 2022-23 she had a comedy and talking show that was touring.

"The venues received threats at this time that their business would be disrupted. This was done over Facebook, emails and the telephone.

"He claimed he spoke on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community. His motive for the actions was that Katie Hopkins had said things that were prejudicial to these groups of people. He effectively launched a campaign to cancel Katie Hopkins and stop her from having any speaking platform."

He added: "Whatever his views may be on Katie Hopkins, the fact remains that she was booked by these venues. There was a demand to see her and it is quite clear that [Hutchings] didn't want her to perform. It shows him going to extreme lengths to make menacing demands. The venues did cancel."

The venues may not agree with Hopkins's views, but they are completely in the right to have the option to decide whether to book her or not. That decision is not the right of a single individual who wishes to use militant tactics to silence those who do not share his views.

Mr Hutchings has been released on bail and will return to Southampton Crown Court on 16 October for sentencing.

This is an incredibly interesting case and hopefully sends a message loud and clear that you cannot just threaten a business and harm someone's ability to earn a living because you do not like someone's views.

Read more in The Daily Echo, and you can see Ms Hopkins's statement on X here.