An alleged saboteur plotted to spray paint the word “Palestine” on the lawn at Boris Johnson’s wedding reception venue, a court has heard.
Tim Speers, 41, and another man, Sean Middlebrough, were carrying spray paint, glue, and a red boiler suit when they were accosted by police at the Cotswold estate of Conservative Party donor Lord Bamford.
The incident happened on July 29 2022, the day before Bamford, the chairman of the JCB empire, was due to host the reception for Boris and Carrie Johnson’s wedding at his Daylesford Estate home.
Speers had recorded a voice note saying he had “agreed” to carry out a protest at the estate for Palestine Action, though this was before the group was proscribed under the Terrorism Act, jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard.
“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, through a weed sprayer”, he said in the note.
However, Speers has now denied intending to cause criminal damage, insisting he had abandoned the plan after arriving at the estate and noticing the large security presence.
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.
Jurors were told police officers spotted the two men holding cans of beer and looking “quite out of place” on the Daylesford Estate, and when approached by officers they “appeared agitated at being stopped by police”.
It is alleged they refused to say where they were going before claiming they were on holiday and looking for a train station.
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.
The prosecutor said Middlebrough was also carrying a red boiler suit.
Speers was also in possession of two books – Sapiens, A Brief History Of Humankind, which contained a handwritten contact list including one entry for “media team”; and Lost In Work, Escaping Capitalism – which contained a business card called Anonymous for the Voiceless.
Moll said the police discoveries “suggested… that the two men might be in the area to cause disruption”.
Speers’ voice note, created on July 28, 2022, set out: “Rich and Hooder 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 uses JCBs to bulldoze Palestinian homes to create a 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.
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 Boris Johnson 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 decide not to go through with the intended protest.”
Speers, from Bude, Cornwall, denies having an article with intent to destroy or damage property.
The trial continues.
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