Judge calls fountain dye protestors 'arrogant'

Protestors dyed the water red to imitate a "bloodbath," the prosecution said

A judge has criticised the "arrogance" of animal rights activists who caused thousands of pounds of damage to a Buckingham Palace fountain.

The court heard the five, who were part of the Animal Rebellion campaign group, released red dye into the Queen Victoria Memorial fountain in "an attempt to create the impression of a bloodbath".

Louis McKechnie, 23, Christopher Bennett, 27, Riley Ings, 27, Claire Smith, 26, and Rachel Steele, 48, were convicted at Southwark Crown Court of causing criminal damage that cost more than £7,000 to rectify.

Police forcibly removed the protesters and it took 64 hours to clean stains from the Grade 1 listed water feature.

Judge Gregory Perrins said the stunt was a serious act of criminal damage with a high degree of planning.

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

The fountain had to undergo an emergency clean after the protest

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."

Bennett, who appeared via video link from HMP Peterborough where he is serving an 18-month prison sentence for causing a public nuisance, was handed another of the same term to run concurrently.

The other four were given 18-month jail sentences, suspended for two years.

McKechnie, Ings and Smith were ordered to pay £500, and Steele £1,000 in compensation.

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

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.