Health Minister Robin Swann to testify in Twitter threats case

Appearing in person at Newtownards Magistrates’ Court, 45-year-old William Herbert Hawkes opted to have his case dealt with in the petty sessions and then entered not guilty pleas to all of the charges against him.

As a result of the denials, his solicitor confirmed that Mr Swann will have to give evidence.

Hawkes, from Ardmillan Crescent in Ards, faces charges across two bills of indictment, all of them directed at the health minister.

The north Down man faces two counts of making a threat to kill Mr Swann and one charge of sending menacing tweets to the health minister on November 15 last year while on a second set of charges, alleged to have been committed on January 22 and 23 this year, Hawkes faces four counts of making a threat to kill and one of sending an offensive or menacing message.

Previous courts have heard claims that Hawkes sent a number of tweets where he labelled Mr Swann as a “monster, a liar and a killer”.

“He is deliberately killing elderly people,” Hawkes is alleged to have tweeted. “Robin Swann is a killer.

“I will kill him. As long as he poses a danger to my parents, I will be a danger to him. He is a liar and a dirty b******.

“Never in my life have I ever had such an overwhelming desire to kill an individual,” revealed a police officer on an earlier occasion.

In the November case, Hawkes is alleged to have tweeted threats where he labelled the health minister as “corrupt,” a “deadly b******” and asked him to “explain his master plan”.

At the time, Hawkes was under probation supervision from previous, similar offences also relating to Mr Swann.

In court yesterday Hawkes was freed on continuing bail with the case adjourned to September 20 to fix a date for the contest.