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Fortnum and Mason UK Uncut protesters found guilty | Fortnum and Mason UK Uncut protesters found guilty |
(40 minutes later) | |
A group of protesters who occupied Fortnum and Mason during a demonstration in March have been found guilty of aggravated trespass. | A group of protesters who occupied Fortnum and Mason during a demonstration in March have been found guilty of aggravated trespass. |
A sit-in organised by campaign group UK Uncut was held at the luxury food store on Piccadilly, in London, in March. | |
Protesters organised the occupation on Twitter "as they believe the store is guilty of tax avoidance", the court heard. | |
Westminster Magistrates' Court found the 10 protesters guilty on Thursday. | |
Volleyball played | |
The protesters had peeled off from a large anti-cuts march when they targeted the store. | |
Megaphones were used and, having overwhelmed the police officers who were trying to keep them out of the store, protesters took over control of the store, the court was told. | |
Some of the protesters were masked and many carried placards and were handing out flyers, District Judge Michael Snow said. | |
Drums were beaten, horns were sounded and bagpipes were played, while protesters hung banners. | |
Volleyball was played across the displays while tents were erected. | |
Some goods were also stolen from the store during the occupation, while others were damaged. | |
'Chaotic scene' | |
The court heard lost sales as a result amounted to more than £54,000. | |
District Judge Snow said: "The scene inside the store was chaotic. Protesters were shouting and screaming at a very high volume." | |
Charges of aggravated trespass against 109 others accused of storming Fortnum and Mason were dropped earlier in the year. | Charges of aggravated trespass against 109 others accused of storming Fortnum and Mason were dropped earlier in the year. |
The Crown Prosecution Service decided the prosecutions were not in the public interest. | The Crown Prosecution Service decided the prosecutions were not in the public interest. |
Those convicted were: Euan Storrar, 24, of Dorking, Surrey; Sebastian Jones, 20, of Southampton; Daniel Lichman, 25, of Willesden; Oliver Pope, 20, of Southampton; Jake Colman, 22, of Pretoria Road, London; Adam Ramsey, 26, of Alyth, Perthshire; Edward Bauer, 23, of Fleet, Hampshire; Grainne Gannon, 29, of Shacklewell, north London; Oliver Rodker, 42, of Manchester; and Peter Speller, 26, of Oxford. |
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