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    Gilmour Jailed For Cenotaph Protest

    Charlie Gilmour, son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, has been jailed for 16 months for a drink and drugs-fuelled rampage during protests against student tuition fees.

    The Cambridge University student admitted violent disorder after he was seen hanging from a Union flag on the Cenotaph and leaping on to the bonnet of a Jaguar car that formed part of a royal convoy.

    Gilmour, 21, was also found to have thrown a rubbish bin at the vehicle.

    Kingston Crown Court heard he had turned to drink and drugs after being rejected by his biological father, the writer Heathcote Williams, and had taken LSD and valium in the hours leading up to the violence.

    Judge Nicholas Price QC said Gilmour's behaviour at the Cenotaph was "deeply offensive" and that his actions had caused public outrage.

    He added that to "ignore what you did would be wrong, but to sentence you on it would be improper".

    "What you did went far, far beyond proper protest."

    Gilmour, from Billingshurst, West Sussex, also kicked at the window of Topshop's flagship store on Oxford Street and ended up in possession of the leg of a mannequin during the riot on December 9.

    Minutes earlier he had joined a mob attacking a procession of three royal cars, one containing the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, as it made its way up Regent Street.

    The Jaguar carried royal protection officers accompanying Charles and Camilla as they were chauffeured to a Royal Variety Performance in a Rolls-Royce.

    During one incident he was caught shouting: "Let them eat cake, they said, we won't eat cake.

    "We will eat fire, ice and destruction, because we are angry, very f****** angry.

    In another clip he is heard to say: "They broke the moral law, we are going to break all the laws. Arson. Destroy.

    "We are not going to stand for it any f****** more, storm Parliament."

    Judge Price said: "It would, in my view, be wrong for me to ignore who the occupants of the three cars were and that's undoubtedly an aggravating feature."

    He acknowledged that Gilmour had a right to protest about student fees and that his "feelings were sincere".

    But he warned that this right was not "unfettered" and carried with it responsibility.

    Gilmour issued a public apology the next day after he was captured in photographs that showed him hanging from a flag on the Cenotaph.

    He said it was a "moment of idiocy".

    After he was identified he expressed his "deepest apologies for the terrible insult to the thousands of people who died bravely for our country".

    In a statement at the time he said: "I feel nothing but shame. My intention was not to attack or defile the Cenotaph.

    "Running along with a crowd of people who had just been violently repelled by the police, I got caught up in the spirit of the moment.

    "I feel additionally mortified that my moment of idiocy has distracted so much from the message (the) protest was trying to send out."

     

    148 comments

    • ANT  •  10 months ago
      Well i hope they treat the poppy and flag burners with so much "justice". but i'm living in a fantasy world they would never dare do that to a dirty muzzi for fear of being called racist even though Islam is a religion, this special brand of justice is sadly only for the British!
      • DARREN 10 months ago
        'dirty muzzi'?
        funny i thought devout muslims pray & therefore also wash 5 times a day.
        no danger of you being called a racist... perpetuating religious hatred like that is no better than the issue you complain about. ..
        open your eyes to the wider context of military engagement in the world 2day-
        every conflict on this planet is the direct result of western foreign policy, business interests & bare faced thievery of offshore material wealth. say it loud & say it proud- the war in Iraq is illegal! & bin laden is & was nothing but a scape-ghost. neither you or me or the troops or the thousands of innocents dying under their 'protection' have anything to gain from the position our 'leaders' have put us in.
        so just remember, in today's world your war hero is another's executioner or butcher of innocent families.
        it's almost the anniversary of the 'suicide' of weapons inspector David Kelley.. i wonder how his family feel about poppies, flag waving & victory parades.
      • just me 10 months ago
        dont think its quite the same relly
      • Hasham 10 months ago
        You're living in a fantasy land because someone else is to blame for your own life failures and it's never anything to do with you. Funny how it's always those with the least talent, education, and drive who need a scapegoat, and how the talented, educated, and motivated do't tend to go out of their way to attack others. They just go about the business of being successful in life.
    • K S  •  10 months ago
      This prat deserves all he gets even though no doubt he will not serve anything like the sentence as "daddy" will sort it for him. He does not belong to the body of people who have to actually pay for their education and therefore inherit a huge debt (unlike this @#$% who will no doubt inherit a mass fortune and never need a real job) ,so has no place "protesting" and was there, as many of them were, causing mayhem for the "fun" of it. A better punishment would have been to make him clean the cenotaph he defaced on his hands and knees infront of the television cameras he was happy to play up to when "disguised" on the day . As for the person who "feels sorry for him", YOU are part of the problem today...........idiot!
      • ANGIE4QUEEN 10 months ago
        People like you who judge other people and call them names while not even knowing them are part of todays real problem. I am not even remotely an idiot, and I am entitled to give my opinion as much as you are, but fortunately I am educated enough to not have to resort to name-calling while getting my message across.
      • Maureen 10 months ago
        Clean the Cenotaph is a great idea, but is he worthy???
      • PHILIP 10 months ago
        Angie4Queen ,of course you have your opinion but your comment about not even knowing this silly boy do not wash, his deeds lets the world know him.
    • Musician  •  10 months ago
      A sad reflection of how low the population of this once proud country now have sunk.
      I am glad that I was born during the time when we had pride in the fortitude of our brave citizens during the threat of total annihilation.
      I am now of an age where I no longer have any faith in the majority of the younger population of this land, because they do not appreciate the great sacrifice our Armed Forces made during the two great wars. This is quite obvious by the way they conduct themselves in public and how they smirk and snear when anyone shows respect to the authority of our country.
      The dedication of our Military, Air Force and Navy, Fire Service, Medical Practitioners, Police, Teachers, in fact anyone who is educated or is skilled is looked down upon by the crassly ignorant and spoiled generations of the last 40 years ', They all think that they have a God given right to go to UNI for no fees and expect a white collar job pressing buttons ( with a top wage ) to be waiting for them when they have achieved their paper qualifications. Oh! I don't want to get my hands dirty in a factory or in a manual job ! Anyone who does that is second rate !!
      This young upstart is just typical of the useless, spoiled and selfish offspring of the times.The blame lies with his and all the other parents who no longer respect our Land or it's traditions and achievements.
      Civil Responsibility should be part of the corriculum in all schools as it is in most other countries.
      WE HAVE ONLY OURSELVES TO BLAME for the lack of respect, discipline and pride.
      • Earl 10 months ago
        One of the most insightful comments I've ever read on these news pages.
      • Rosetta 10 months ago
        ditto.. and bravo....
      • Alex 10 months ago
        i do not envy the younger population . Many do work hard, get good degrees and have little, or no prospect of a job, never mind a good one and all this while facing the ever increasing student loan debt, and house prices which are simple unaffordable, except to the very very well paid. Very different to by-gone days when people could expect a good, free education, and to buy or rent a home. Civil responsibility? I believe most people would acknowldege the sacrifice made by others, if they weren't too busy just 'getting by' and trying to survive or supporting the latest overseas crisis ( whilst ignoring the mess our country is in) Personally I feel the the disproportionate support given to minorites, and single parents .. the dumbing down of education and the no-one-fails exam culture (grades A- G?!!!!) and everyone-should-go-to-university has a lot ot answer for. I could go on, but the future for the younger generation is not great and whilst discipline/ respect is sometimes lacking, it alone will not solve the problems or make the outlook brighter.
    • Mike Smith  •  10 months ago
      He deserves all he got for desecrating the cenotaph alone.But it has nothing to do with him being a "spoilt little rich boy".To be honest i would jail all the scum who turned to violence.I dont actually see the point of the protest as no one forces ANYONE to go to uni.But they have the right to protest but NOT the right to cause damage or violence
      • A Yahoo! User 10 months ago
        He didn't desecrate the cenotaph, he swung off the motherhumping flag.
      • Mike Smith 10 months ago
        Well i can only go by what i read and it sounds like he did more than that.If you are right and he didnt actually mean any disrespect then maybe the jugdge was a bit hard on him.i must say i am a bit pissed off by the hatred towards him on here.I think other did as much as him or even more by what you say
      • bluebell 10 months ago
        He was made an example because of who his dad is and no other reason.
    • brian  •  10 months ago
      If ever there was a case for bringing back the birch, this is it, and there would be no shortage of volunteers to wield it.
      • Spike 10 months ago
        Legal, or not, - can I volunteer? PLEASE?
      • TG 10 months ago
        Me too!
      • A Yahoo! User 10 months ago
        Oh, yea let me spank the cute little 21 years old's arse.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  10 months ago
      hahahaha,his butt is gonna get destroyed in prison,serves him right,arrogant parasite
    • Davina Stoner  •  10 months ago
      my comment was removed by big brother again!
    • J  •  10 months ago
      silly little prat deserves all he gets!
    • Maureen  •  10 months ago
      I have sympathy for the boy, I feel he has been made a scapegoat. His behaviour was DISGRACEFUL and SHODDY. something he has to live with. I don't believe he has the tools to deal with what he did, and clearly his parents don't care.
      Despite being a Cambridge student, he went on this protest having consumed alcohol and LSD, I would say his judgement was impaired. Cambridge should expell him.
      For trashing the Cenotaph he should be made to work as a cleaner or helper for our war wounded, no pay, minimumof 2yrs.
      As for leaping onto the bonnet of a car, he should be made to pay for damage to the vehicle, and give a personal apology to the occupants.
    • Barbara  •  10 months ago
      Why is it always little shits who have been given every thing any one can ever dream of who want to change the system that hasgiven them their comfort for no effort of their own. Would it be wonderful if we could send them somewhere where they have to graft 24 hours a day to exist in filth and squalor. Then we will see how many minutes they last without having mummy and daddy to go home to sleep and eat at their mansions.
    • Trev  •  10 months ago
      Did'nt get long enough the disgusting piece of garbage.
    • Danny  •  10 months ago
      Should of got 10 years a disgrace to our country, as above says daddy will get him out with his money, YUK.
    • degsy dog  •  10 months ago
      he was a prat but the law only seems to apply if u r white and english
    • Klaus  •  10 months ago
      Looks like a right decission from the judge this time, but only half if not less be served with probation time on the end. You would have thought with the education he received he would have some brains somewhere, but it seems like most of them they only knows what they been tought common sence is not included.
    • KEITH  •  10 months ago
      the scum bag should have got 10 years
    • the saint  •  10 months ago
      mussy burns a poppy on armistice day, ��50 fine, an idiot brit swings from a flag on a 16 months in jail, chilld abusers get less, i wonder how many months jail he would have got for burning a koran?
    • ged  •  10 months ago
      did HE REALLY SAY "LET THEM EAT CAKE" what a stuck up little prick and he thinks hes working class like most of the stuck up pricks who where there, wake up smell the coffee beans you lot are probably financed by mummy and daddy like him and havent got a clue about the working class
    • CRAZY BLOKE  •  10 months ago
      I agree he should not have swung on the union jack at the cenitaff or caused ��50,000 worth of damage to property. surely is father could of payed for the damage and been given the 16 mounths as comunity service, such as cleaning the streets of london and picking up dog poo, wearing brite orange overalls, 7 days a week. umilliation is good way of insureing he thinks twice before doing it again. Besides it will cost the tax payer allmost as much to keep him in prison as the amount of damage he caused. Another ��50,000 of tax payers money we can not aford at this present time of economic uncertanty.
    • Northen Monkey  •  10 months ago
      Give him 16 DAYS in Helmand.
    • Lawrie  •  10 months ago
      Good...he seems like a right T^sser