A woman who poured human waste over a memorial for Captain Sir Tom Moore has been spared an immediate jail term. Madeleine Budd, 21, caused “outrage among society” with the stunt which was filmed and shared on social media, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday (October 26).
The court was told Budd had been living in a caravan with a chemical toilet, so the substance was “readily available”. She defaced the life-sized statue of the World War Two veteran in Thistley Meadow, Hatton, south Derbyshire, in an environmental protest on September 30.
At the time Budd was in breach of a conditional discharge, imposed earlier this year for an invasion of the Oval cricket ground when she targeted the statue – a silhouette of Sir Tom – while wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “End UK private jets”. She was also under investigation by two police forces and due to appear before magistrates by postal requisition.
Budd was remanded in custody after pleading guilty to causing £200 worth of criminal damage to a war memorial last month and has spent three weeks in prison. But she was spared an immediate jail sentence when District Judge Louisa Cieciora handed her a 21-week prison term, suspended for 18 months.
Prosecutor David Burns said “serious distress has been caused”. He told the court: “Captain Tom was a figure well-known to the public.
“His work and charity had a great impact during the Covid crisis. The matter has caused some outrage amongst society in general.”
Katie McFadden, defending the former Manchester University medical student, said: “She has expressed she will not undertake actions such as this in the future. She has clearly reflected on the impact of her actions and expressed how she is sorry for any offence caused to the family of Captain Tom.”
Judge Cieciora told Budd, from Kington, Herefordshire: “You had clearly thought about what would cause the most amount of outrage and publicity. The cost of repair was low, around £200.
“Although the substance you used was deliberately chosen as being the most demeaning and disgraceful as possible, equally it was a substance which can be easily cleaned.”
The judge noted her young age and her deeply held views on climate change, adding: “Given your actions could not or have not achieved what you wanted them to and you want to find a better way to express your message… I am just about persuaded I can suspend your sentence.”
Sir Tom achieved national fame when he raised almost £33 million for NHS charities during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic by walking laps of his garden in the run up to his 100th birthday. He was later knighted by the Queen before he died with Covid-19 in February 2021.
Ms McFadden said Budd had cleaned the statue following the action using water and tissue paper. “The thought process behind this was to cause moral disruption, to draw people’s attention to the things that are going on in the world around her, to try and make people feel something, to try and get a visceral reaction so people will stand up and start to take notice of the climate crisis,” she said.
