An environmental protestor has admitted pouring human waste over a memorial erected for NHS fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Madeleine Budd, 21, of Kedleston Avenue, Manchester, admitted an offence of criminal damage when she appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 4th October 2022.
Criminal damage is an offence under section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1972.
It is a scheduled offence within the meaning of section 22 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1980, which means the value of the damage caused is usually relevant to the mode of trial.
However, recently enacted legislation (section 50 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022) means that the monetary value of damage caused to a memorial is no longer a consideration when determining the mode of trial.
That means this particular offence can be dealt with either way. The maximum penalty is 12 months' custody and/or a fine at level 5 (unlimited) on summary conviction; 10 years' custody on conviction on indictment.
Jordan Pratt, prosecuting, outlined the facts: "(Budd) approached the statue of Captain Sir Tom Moore and poured a bucket of human faeces all over this statue.
"While doing so, she was wearing a t-shirt saying the words 'End UK Private Jets'. This act was filmed by somebody and shared on social media sites.
"It has already been seen by a number of people and reported on in a number of news outlets."
The black silhouette sculpture of Captain Sir Tom Moore was installed at Thistley Meadow, Hatton, Derbyshire at the start of February 2021, just two days after his death.
A 20 second video shows the moment Budd, a former medical student at The University of Manchester, approached the memorial and emptied a jerry can of human waste over it.
She had positioned a milk crate as a step, so she could reach the top of the memorial.
Mr Pratt told the court that Budd's actions were pre-planned for maximum impact.
"This is an abhorrent act", he continued.
"I need not remind the court of the impact Captain Sir Tom Moore had.
"He was a figurehead a number of people rallied around in a fundraising effort, to raise tens of millions of pounds, by walking around laps of his garden at the height of the pandemic.
"He was successful in raising a huge amount of money in order to help ease the burden for all of us in the pandemic.
"There was a video filmed where the defendant said 'after this people are going to say he is a hero. People are going to say this is extremely disrespectful to his life and the things he stood up for. I agree with that'."
Having considered the circumstances, District Judge Louisa Cieciora ordered a pre-sentence report.
She warned Budd that all sentencing options remained on the table and that custody was a distinct possibility.
Budd was remanded in custody until Wednesday, 26th October 2022, when she will either be sentenced or have her case sent to the Crown Court.
On hearing that Budd was being held in custody, a member of the public rose to his feet and said to DJ Cieciora: "On behalf of every veteran, Ma'am, thank you very much."
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