Bethan Tichborne to appeal against public order conviction for telling PM he had ‘blood on his hands’ during anti-cuts protest<\/p>\n
Activist ‘shocked’ at conviction for yelling at David Cameron<\/strong> A woman has described her shock after being found guilty of a public order offence for telling David Cameron he had “blood on his hands”.<\/p>\n Bethan Tichborne, 28, said initially she assumed her court summons was a bureaucratic error after she was arrested for protesting against cuts to disability benefits. But she was told by a district judge that her comments must have hugely insulted the prime minister.<\/p>\n Cameron was switching on the Christmas lights in his Witney constituency in Oxfordshire, in December, when Tichborne tried to climb a barrier with her homemade placard. The one-woman protest, she claims, was against cuts leading to the deaths of people with disabilities. She believes her conviction at Oxford magistrates court last week was politically motivated.<\/p>\n District Judge Tim Pattinson told her: “It is difficult to think of a clearer example of disorderly behaviour than to climb or attempt to climb a barrier at a highly security-sensitive public occasion.”<\/p>\n Judge Pattinson praised Tichborne’s previous good character but said her comments that Cameron “had blood on his hands” could “hardly be more insulting to anyone, whether a politician or not”.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old was convicted of using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.<\/p>\n Tichborne, a teaching assistant who works with disabled children, said that she now intends to appeal against the conviction. “My faith in the court system is a bit shaky but on the other hand I feel I’ve got to hold them to account.”<\/p>\n She added: “I am really quite shocked and quite sad \u2026 I had a placard that said Cameron has got blood on his hands and shouted disabled people are dying because of Cameron’s policies.<\/p>\n “The judge said stuff in his verdict that made it very clear it was political, like he couldn’t think of anything more insulting or offensive.”<\/p>\n She also alleged police beat her up moments after she tried to scale the barrier separating Cameron from the crowd. …more<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMark Townsend and Tracy McVeigh – guardian.co.uk – 16 March 2013<\/p>\n