Cambridge University undergraduate Charlie Gilmour, 21, who was photographed swinging from a Union flag on the Cenotaph, pleaded guilty to one charge of violent disorder after the demonstration in London last year was marred by violence.
During the riots a Rolls-Royce carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall was surrounded by a mob which began to throw missiles at the vehicle.
The rear passenger window was smashed in the attack and the Duchess was prodded in the side with a stick.
Gilmour, from Billinghurst, West Sussex, was accused of leaping onto the bonnet of a car carrying royal protection officers accompanying the Prince and the Duchess.
He was also accused of throwing a bin at the royal convoy and smashing a window at a branch of Topshop.
Gilmour had been accused of stealing a mannequin leg, but that charge was later withdrawn.
He has pleaded guilty to taking part in the riot but the details of the specific offences are yet to be agreed between the Crown and the defence team.
Judge Nicholas Price, QC, granted Gilmour conditional bail ahead of sentencing so he can complete his second year exams at Cambridge.
But he warned him that he could still face a prison term when he returns to court for sentencing on July 8.
He said: "The fact that I am granting you bail is of no indication whatsoever that you will be dealt with in a non-custodial way.
"You must understand that your plea of guilty to violent disorder is a serious matter and it may be that the proper course would be one of immediate custody."
Gilmour, who is studying history at Girton College, Cambridge, was among thousands of people who protested in the capital on December 9 over Government plans for university tuition fees.
He sparked widespread anger however when an image of him swinging from the Cenotaph appeared in the national press.
The day after the riots he issued an apology, describing it as a "moment of idiocy".
In a statement 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."
Gilmour's biological father is poet and playwright Heathcote Williams but he was adopted by the rock star when his mother, writer and journalist Polly Samson, remarried.
No comments:
Post a Comment