Anti-lockdown protesters who abused the BBC journalist Nick Watt and left him feeling in “immense danger” have been sentenced.
Footage played in court showed demonstrators shouting in the Newsnight political editor’s face and calling him a traitor before chasing him at a rally near Downing Street on 14 June last year.
The anti-vaccine demonstrators were said to have targeted Watt because he was wearing a BBC lanyard.
Djazia Chaib-Eddour, 44, Martin Hockridge, 58, Alexander Peat, 34, Christopher Aitken, 62, and Gary Purnell, 45, denied using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress, but were found guilty at trial.
The district judge, Louisa Cieciora, sitting at Westminster magistrates court, said the incident was “extremely unpleasant”, as she handed Purnell, Peat and Hockridge 12-month community orders, with a requirement to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. Chaib-Eddour was given a 12-month community order, with a requirement to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 hours of rehabilitation.
They were each ordered to pay £395 in costs and other charges and given an indefinite restraining order not to contact Watt.
The judge said: “This was an extremely unpleasant incident in which each of you used abusive words and threatening behaviour towards Mr Watt. This was committed against somebody who was providing a service to the public, even if you did not agree that service was being performed to the standard it should have been.”
The judge issued an arrest warrant for Aitken, who did not attend the hearing. Joseph Olswang, 40, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and was sentenced to 20 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
In a victim impact statement, Watt told how he ran to the gates of Downing Street “as fast as I could” because of the “size and aggression of the crowd”.
“At the time of the incident I was shocked and alarmed at what was happening to me,” he said. “I felt I was in immense danger.”
The reporter said he has been the subject of death threats on “conspiracy theorist forums” and had concerns “my safety can no longer be guaranteed”.
“Whilst not from identified suspects in this case, they were clearly inspired by the incident,” he said. “My family and I found them very distressing.”
The prosecutor, Sudara Weerasena, said on Tuesday that Watt had been intimidated during the trial. “Having given evidence in this particular case, he was intimidated leaving the court,” she said. “The prosecution advocate had to be escorted out of the building by police.”
The judge said the allegations could not be “laid at the door of any of the defendants”, who were still in court at the time.
