She had initially denied the charges, but changed her pleas to guilty before her trial was due to begin this morning….reports Asian Lite News
A 25-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to assault after throwing a milkshake at Nigel Farage during the general election campaign. Victoria Thomas Bowen, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London this morning charged with assault by beating and criminal damage.
She had initially denied the charges, but changed her pleas to guilty before her trial was due to begin this morning.
Prosecutors alleged that £17.50 worth of criminal damage was caused to a jacket belonging to Farage’s security officer, James Woolfenden. He had addressed supporters at a rally earlier in the day and was left with the yellow liquid splattered across his dark blue suit.
Deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram adjourned sentencing to 16 December and told the defendant: “You have pleaded guilty to, in my judgment, two serious charges.
In a witness statement read out in court, Farage said he was not injured but “this incident caused me concern as I have only been going about my job” and that he tries to “have as much public engagement as possible”. “I’m saddened that this has happened at a public campaign,” he added.
Thomas Bowen was arrested shortly after the incident. She told police she saw a post online advertising Farage’s rally in Clacton-on-Sea that day, the court heard. She told officers she “does not agree with his political views”.
She said she was outside the pub when she saw him leaving and decided to act because she “had the opportunity”. Giving details from Thomas Bowen’s police interview, prosecutor Nishma Shah told the court: “She acknowledges that this was an assault and that the liquid would have gone over the jackets of him and others and caused them to get cleaning, but she states that Nigel would be able to afford this. She states she did not regret her actions.”
When asked why Thomas Bowen changed her plea on the day of trial, Andrew Price, defending, told the judge: “This case has had a tremendous impact on this defendant. There have been a number of threats made against this defendant and she as much as possible wanted to put it out of her mind and avoid making the decision that she ultimately has come to.”
