David Cameron “blood stained hands” consitent at home and abroad

Bethan Tichborne to appeal against public order conviction for telling PM he had ‘blood on his hands’ during anti-cuts protest

Activist ‘shocked’ at conviction for yelling at David Cameron
Mark Townsend and Tracy McVeigh – guardian.co.uk – 16 March 2013

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”.

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.

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.

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.”

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”.

The 28-year-old was convicted of using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

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.”

She added: “I am really quite shocked and quite sad … I had a placard that said Cameron has got blood on his hands and shouted disabled people are dying because of Cameron’s policies.

“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.”

She also alleged police beat her up moments after she tried to scale the barrier separating Cameron from the crowd. …more