Judge criticises activists’ ‘arrogance’ after they damaged Palace fountain

A judge has criticised the “arrogance” of animal rights activists who caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to a Buckingham Palace fountain by releasing red dye into it.

Louis McKechnie, 23, Christopher Bennett, 33, Riley Ings, 27, Claire Smith, 26, and Rachel Steele, 48, of Animal Rebellion, were convicted of causing £7,080 of damage to the Queen Victoria Memorial water feature in London in August 2021.

The dye turned the water red to “create the impression of a bloodbath” and stained the stonework of the Grade I listed fountain, in front of the royal London residence, prosecutors said.

Police forcibly removed the protesters and it took 64 hours to clean the fountain.

Judge Gregory Perrins, sentencing at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, said the stunt was a “serious act of criminal damage” which had a “high degree” of planning.

He said that had the fountain not been cleaned quickly and efficiently, there was a “very real risk” that the marble stonework would have been “permanently damaged”.

The judge told them: “You were concerned only about promoting your cause and thought nothing of the consequences of your actions.

“You each thought that your actions were entirely justified.

“Each of you displayed a high degree of arrogance that you were completely in the right, that your views were all that mattered and that the consequences of your actions were a price worth paying for the promotion of your cause.”

He added that they deliberately targeted a “culturally significant” memorial in one of the most prominent positions in London in a “calculated attempt” to ensure “maximum publication” for their cause.

Bennett, who appeared via video link from HMP Peterborough, where he is serving a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for causing a public nuisance, was handed an 18-month sentence to run concurrently with the other.

The other four were given 18-month jail sentences, suspended for two years. McKechnie, Ings and Smith were ordered to pay £500 in compensation, and Steele £1,000 in compensation.

The judge singled out “seasoned protester” McKechnie, warning him of a “severe” prison sentence should he re-offend.

He said: “You have been extremely fortunate to have been dealt with relatively leniently by the courts in the past.”

Laura Stockdale, defending Steele and Bennett, said her clients were not involved in staining the stonework and that the overall damage was not excessive.

She told the court that they are no longer involved with Animal Rebellion.

Shina Animashaun, defending Ings, McKechnie and Smith, said his clients were young when the protest happened and that there was not a “sophisticated level” of planning.

The defendants had each denied one count of criminal damage but a jury found them guilty after a trial in August.

The trial heard that the fountain, which is cleaned once a month, received an emergency clean at an extra cost after the protest.

Michael Robert Turner, an assistant manager for Royal Parks at the time of the incident, told the jury the marble is “porous” and there was a risk the dye would seep in and stain the stone if it was not immediately cleaned.