Activist ‘plotted Palestine paint stunt at Boris Johnson's wedding venue’
Tim Speers was found carrying spray paint and super glue the day before the former Prime Minister was due to celebrate his marriage to Carrie Johnson in the Cotswolds
An activist allegedly conspired to spray paint the word 'Palestine' at Boris Johnson's wedding celebration in 2022, a court has heard.
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Tim Speers was approached by police at the Cotswolds estate belonging to the Tory donor Lord Anthony Bamford.
The 41-year-old was found along with another man, Sean Middlebrough, carrying spray paint and super glue the day before the former Prime Minister was due to celebrate his marriage to Carrie Johnson.
They had married in a small ceremony a year earlier in May 2021, but Covid restrictions in force at the time meant that only 30 people were able to attend.
Speers, of Fairfield Road in Bude, Cornwall, denied having items on him with intent to damage property.
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He is also said to have recorded a voice note agreeing to carry out the protest on behalf of proscribed group Palestine Action.
He claimed to have abandoned the plans due to the to a large security presence at the Cotswold venue.
Jurors at Southwark Crown Court were also told Spears and the other man were holding cans of beers when they were confronted by police at Lord Bamford's Daylesford Estate home.
They were said to look "quite out of place" and initially seemed "agitated" when they were questioned.
The pair later claimed to be holidaymakers looking for the nearest train station.
Prosecutor Christiaan Moll told jurors that Middlebrough, who faces the same charge, has not attended court and faces a trial separately at a later date.
The court heard the officers searched the men’s bags, finding two cans of red and white line marker paint, a can of black “very high temperature” paint, and superglue.
Middlebrough was also carrying a red boiler suit.
Speers’ voice note, created on July 28 2022, sets out: “Rich and Huda from Palestine Action just got in contact with me a couple of hours ago, and they’ve asked me to do an action, which I’ve agreed to do.
“So basically that Lord Bamford is hosting some like party this weekend, Boris Johnson.
“Lord Bamford is like the owner, his family the owner of JCB if no-one’s aware… the Israeli government basically use JCBs to bulldoze Palestinian homes to create way for Israeli settlers, so this dude just profits from untold suffering.”
He went on to say: “On his lawn apparently there’s this just giant heart, I haven’t seen it but Rich said like there’s this big heart mowed into his lawn, so the idea is to just go up to it and write Palestine in red paint like through a like weed sprayer.”
Speers continued with a request for someone to film the stunt, and claimed it would be “a complete piece of piss to justify” the action in court.
Mr Moll said Speers is expected to accept he had the paint and glue, as well as making the voice note, and he planned to paint ‘Palestine’ on the lawn “as a visual and symbolic protest against the complicity of Lord Bamford, his company JCB and the then Prime Minister BorisJohnson in the ongoing oppression and genocide of Palestine”.
He also told the jury: “Upon arriving in the area, he learned that there was a significant security presence at the Daylesford Estate, causing him to reassess his plans and decided not to go through with the intended protest.”
Speers, from Bude in Cornwall, denies having an article with intent to destroy or damage property.
The trial continues.