A man plotted to spray the word "Palestine" over a giant heart mowed into the lawn at the Cotswold estate where Boris Johnson was to hold his wedding party, Southwark Crown Court heard on Monday.
Tim Speers, 41, of Fairfield Road, Bude, Cornwall, denies having an article with intent to destroy or damage property. The charge relates to 29 July 2022, the day before the then prime minister and his wife Carrie celebrated their marriage at the Daylesford Estate in Gloucestershire.
The account given to the jury is the prosecution's opening. No evidence has yet been tested and the defence case has not been put.
Christiaan Moll, prosecuting, told the court that police approached Speers and a second man at the estate because they looked "quite out of place". Jurors heard the pair were carrying cans of beer, initially refused to say why they were there and then said they were on holiday. Sky News reported Mr Moll as telling the court they appeared "agitated" and claimed to be holidaymakers looking for a train station.
Officers found spray paint and superglue, the court heard. According to Sky News's report of the hearing, a search recovered two cans of red and white paint, a can of "very high temperature" paint and superglue, and the second man also had a red boiler suit.
The prosecution said police recovered a voice note recorded by Speers the day before his arrest. In it, Mr Moll said, he described being asked by two people from Palestine Action to take part in "action", which he had "agreed to do".
The recording, as transcribed by the BBC from the hearing, opened: "So basically that Lord Bamford is hosting some like party this weekend, Boris Johnson." Later in the note the speaker said: "There's this big heart mowed into his lawn, so the idea is to just go up to it", before describing writing "Palestine" in red paint through a weed sprayer. The speaker said he had not seen the heart himself.
Daylesford House, an 18th-century Grade I-listed mansion, is owned by Lord Bamford, chairman of the construction equipment manufacturer JCB and a longstanding Conservative donor. In the recording, as transcribed by Sky News, the speaker asserted that "the Israeli government basically use JCBs to bulldoze Palestinian homes to create way for Israeli settlers". That is an assertion contained in a recording put before the jury. Lord Bamford and JCB are not accused of any wrongdoing and are not parties to the proceedings.
Mr Moll told the court the defence was expected to accept that Speers had the paint and glue and made the voice note, but to argue that he abandoned the planned protest after arriving at the estate and seeing the scale of the security presence.
Speers faces no terrorism charge. Palestine Action was proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 with effect from 0001 on 5 July 2025, almost three years after the events alleged in this case. The Court of Appeal upheld the proscription on 15 June 2026, overturning a High Court ruling of February 2026 that had quashed it, and the Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal.
Speers pleaded not guilty at a short hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 3 February 2025, PA Media reported at the time.
A second man, named in Sky News's report of Monday's hearing as Sean Middlebrough, faces the same charge and is due to be tried at a later date. He has not entered any plea before this jury and is presumed innocent.
The Johnsons married in a private ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in May 2021 and held their celebration at Daylesford House on 30 July 2022, with marquees and hay bales set up in the grounds. Neither is accused of any wrongdoing.
The trial continues.
Join the Discussion
Have something to say? Join the conversation!
Sign in to share your thoughts and engage with other readers.
Sign In Create AccountNo comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this article!