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BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Sycamore Gap prosecutor shares his story of the trial
The trial of the two men who felled the Sycamore Gap tree garnered global attention. What was it like for the prosecutor at the heart of the case? It felt like a murder trial. Day after day we heard of phones and cars being tracked, gloating messages swapped by the culprits in the aftermath and emotional statements about the devastation they had in this case, the weapon was a chainsaw and the victim was a tree. Richard Wright KC has worked on more than 100 murder cases in his 27 years as a an exclusive interview with the BBC, the prosecutor says the interest in trial of Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers was on a scale he had never encountered before."It was the public expectation," he says, "the pressure of getting the right result.""The evidence was overwhelming so, in cases like that, if you don't get a conviction, something's gone badly wrong." The jury retired on a Thursday, spending four and a half hours out in discussions before being sent home for the day, eventually returning with guilty verdicts the following morning."I was climbing the walls," Mr Wright says of the wait."You start thinking 'Oh my God, could I have done it differently, what if I've got it wrong?'"He didn't - the jury agreed the evidence was overwhelming. During his opening speech, the video of the tree being cut down was shown for the first time. When the two-and-a-half minute long clip, filmed on Graham's phone, finished you could have heard a pin drop in Newcastle Crown Court's courtroom one."Some people might say it was 'just a tree', but the senseless nature of it was quite emotional," Mr Wright recalls. "It did have a greater power when it was presented in court than I thought it would. "Everybody was stunned in to silence. "I felt the same." The video wasn't the only piece of evidence that helped convict Graham, 39, and Carruthers, 32, who had travelled from their homes in Cumbria to fell the tree on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland in the early hours of 28 September news of the tree's felling rapidly spread, Graham and Carruthers were sending each other screenshots of news reports and outraged social media responses to what they had done."I couldn't believe they had recorded the video in the first place," Mr Wright says. "Equally, I thought their conversations the next day were significant, which frankly only the people who'd cut down the tree could be having." They described it as their "operation", talked about how good the cut had been and were getting palpable excitement from the fury."It was one of those cases where you had your absolute dream tick list of every single thing you'd want to prove a criminal offence," Mr Wright says."Admissions after the fact, evidence of them actually committing the crime, cell site and other circumstantial evidence. "The police did an excellent job." During the trial, Mr Wright described the pair as "the odd couple", best friends before falling out spectacularly as the public revulsion at their actions became clear to them."They were certainly unconventional," Mr Wright says."I thought the relationship between them was very strange, they'd had an intense friendship and now they were absolutely daggers drawn."In court, there were also heated exchanges between Mr Wright and Graham. During cross examination, the defendant raised his voice to the prosecutor and said "I've had enough of you calling me a liar. You're trying to wind us up." Was that what Mr Wright was trying to do? "I thought to myself he was trying to make the jury think I was bullying him and being unfair," Mr Wright responds, adding: "I've had worse." The question of "why" has been the big one for this case, what was the motive for what Mr Wright described to jurors as a "moronic mission".After being convicted, Carruthers went from denying any involvement to admitting being a part of it and attributing it to "drunken stupidity".Jailing them for four years and three months each, Mrs Justice Lambert gave that claim short had done too good a job for it to have been done while drunk, the judge said, adding "sheer bravado" and "thrill-seeking" were driving factors. Mr Wright has another theory, relating to the pair taking away the wedge of tree they had cut out and Carruthers having a newborn baby."I really do think the motive was to get some sort of trophy to celebrate the birth of Carruthers' child," the prosecutor says."I think it was probably something as pathetic as that." Does he think the wedge, which was photographed later that night in the boot of Graham's Range Rover, will ever be found?"I doubt it," Mr Wright says. "I think they would have got rid of it."Since the sentencing, the barrister has already been on two murder cases and spent time sitting as a judge, but he is very aware his name is still attached to the Sycamore Gap case."It's certainly a case I will never forget," Mr Wright says. "As a barrister you like to be anonymous. You go and you do your job, you don't really want to be in the public eye so I was quite pleased when it was over."As he moves on to his next cases, the men he prosecuted have been beginning their prison did he think of the sentence? "As far as I could tell, 50% of the public think it was too long and 50% think it was too short," Mr Wright says. "So that tells me it's about right." Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
UK tree-chopping duo get prison sentence
Two men found guilty of the "mindless" and "deliberate" felling of one of the UK's most iconic trees, which sparked national outrage, were on Tuesday jailed for more than four years, reported AFP. A jury at Newcastle Crown Court found former friends Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, guilty in May of criminal damage for the 2023 felling of the tree at Sycamore Gap. It had stood for nearly 200 years next to Hadrian's Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site in northern England. The tree was so striking that it featured in the 1991 Hollywood film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves". Sentencing the pair at the same court, Judge Christina Lambert said their actions had involved a "high degree of planning and preparation" and caused widespread "shock and bewilderment". For those who lived in the county the tree had become "a landmark, a symbol of the beauty of its untamed landscape", she said. Graham and Carruthers each received a sentence of four years and three months. Both men were convicted on two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to the Roman wall, which was damaged when the tree fell on it. "This iconic tree can never be replaced... it belonged to the people. It was totemic," said Andrew Poad, a manager with the National Trust conservation charity, in a victim impact statement read to the court. He said the felling was "beyond comprehension" and had caused "an overwhelming sense of loss and confusion". The pair drove to the site near Hexham in Graham's Range Rover and felled the tree on the night of September 27, 2023, slicing through the trunk with a chainsaw in "a matter of minutes", prosecutor Richard Wright told an earlier hearing. The pair were jointly charged with causing £622,191 ($832,821) of criminal damage to the tree and £1,144 of damage to Hadrian's Wall, an ancient Roman fortification stretching from northwest to northeast England.
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- SBS Australia
Men jailed for felling UK's iconic Sycamore Gap tree
On a dark and stormy night in September 2023, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers set out with a chainsaw to bring down a tree in the British county of Northumberland. But it wasn't just any tree - it was the Sycamore Gap tree, which stood at the centre of a dramatic dip in the landscape alongside the historic World Heritage Listed Hadrian's Wall in northern England, and estimated to be around 200 years old. The sycamore even featured in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. "Azeem, the great wood. I am home." Both men were each convicted of two counts of criminal damage in May. The pair have now been jailed by Judge Christina Lambert for what prosecutors called their act of "mindless destruction". "Mr Daniel Graham, Mr Adam Carruthers, I pass the same sentence in respect of you. The sentence is on count one, four years and three months imprisonment." Both denied any involvement in the felling of the tree at first but evidence to the court placed both of them at the scene - which included footage on Graham's mobile phone of a tree being chainsawed in the dead of night. The court also heard the pair had bragged about what they'd done. Neither man has explained why they did it, though Carruthers' lawyer Andrew Gurney described it as "drunken stupidity". The Judge didn't accept that, ruling that it was clearly deliberate and premeditated over a tree that was beloved in the community and known across the world. "For those who live in Northumberland or who love this county, the tree had become a landmark, a symbol of the beauty of its untamed landscape, featuring prominently in local art and local tourism. For others, the tree had become a place, a special personal significance where marriages were proposed and personal tributes to loved ones were left. It was, as Mr Poad (NATIONAL TRUST MANAGER ANDREW POAD WHO GAVE EVIDENCE) observes, a place of peace and tranquillity to which people returned year after year." The Sycamore Gap tree's destruction was met with fury and dismay across the UK, as these residents told the BBC. WOMAN: "Very sad. It makes you wonder why this has happened." MAN: "It was anger initially. When I found out that it was actually malicious - like a malicious act that caused it - now it's just sad." Reaction to the sentence has been mixed. Some say the prison sentence should have been even harsher. MAN: "Terrible to be honest. Yeah, yeah. Terrible. Should have got a lot more..." WOMAN: "The sentence reflects public disgust and anger." Others believe the punishment should have been tailored to fit the crime. "I'm not sure putting them in prison is the right thing to do. I just think community service, just spending a long, long time planting trees, particularly in weather like this..." Meanwhile, work to save what's left of the iconic tree goes on. Last week, the Northumberland National Park said the largest part of the tree would go on display in an installation located not far from where it once stood. And the National Trust, a heritage conservation charity which looks after the site, has collected twigs and seeds from around the base, in the hopes of promoting regrowth. It said last August there were signs of life at the base, giving hope it might live on.
Metro
4 days ago
- Metro
Should the Sycamore Gap duo be given a planting punishment? Readers discuss
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. It seems obvious to me but wouldn't it have been fitting if Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers – the pair who felled the Sycamore Gap tree (Metro, Wed) – were given the additional punishment of each planting 1,000 new trees, on top of each being jailed for four years and three months? Up first thing in the morning and work them all day until their backs ache and they are sick of the sight of trees, grass and soil. I read that Glastonbury organisers intend to plant new trees next year, with the festival being rested. So where better a place to send them? Dec, Essex Sculptor Charlie Whinney, who has created an installation from a 6ft section of the Sycamore Gap tree, suggests people hug it as an act of remembrance (Metro, Fri). Rather than that, could we not have an annual wringing of the necks of the perpetrators? Howard, Devizes The Sycamore Gap tree chaps got hefty custodial sentences. What if they'd sawn an animal in pieces? They'd have got a slap on the wrists. The mild sentences animal abusers are given shows the contempt judges have for animals. Why is a tree more precious than an animal? Alan Meadowcroft, Oldham Constance Marten – found guilty with partner Mark Gordon of killing their new-born baby while on the run – has a trust fund of £2.4million but gets £600,000 of legal aid (Metro, Tue). Can someone please explain how this is possible. Mr A Bowman, Derby I agree with Alfie Mullin (MetroTalk, Tue) when he says e-bikes are a menace in London parks. He suggests that riders should have a licence to ride them. The thing is, any amount of legislation is worthless if it is not policed. Maybe the Met Police could concentrate on actual physical, harmful crime, rather than tweets and perceived 'emoti-crimes' for the hurt feelings of the feeble. Tony Cooper, Bognor Regis Migel (MetroTalk, Wed) suggests a plutocracy of 'philanthropist-capitalists' would be better running the planet than a democracy on the basis that majority decisions do not always prove correct. But what if I don't agree with what the plutocrats propose? Why should the plan of a small group of people be automatically deemed the best for the whole population? What if they decide to use their power to enslave everybody? Or to get rid of the elderly? Democracy isn't without its drawbacks but at the moment it is the best we have. As well as Brexit, Migel points to the fact the audience often got it wrong when asked on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Managing a society is much more nuanced than picking the right answer out of four options. Michal Piwowarek, Dewsbury Regarding Donald Trump's threat of 100 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian exports, including oil and gas. Japan has been buying gas from Russia's Sakhalin-2 field since 2009. The Sakhalin-2 field is two oil and gas platforms operating off Sakhalin Island, offshored 50m deep in the Sea of Okhtosk. So, will Trump place 100 per cent tariffs on Japanese goods entering the US? Malco, Chislehurst How can £650million of government money for grants of up to £3,750 to assist buying electric cars worth up to £37,000 be fair to the average taxpayer? More Trending It's going to cause further division between the haves and the have-nots. Molly Neville, Sheffield Thames Water blames poor finances on an increase in sewage spills caused by higher-than-usual rainfall, yet has just announced a hosepipe ban due to lower-than-average rainfall (Metro, Wed). The company should be used as a sample case to teach students at business universities how not to run a business. Pedro, Hammersmith Did you hear about the farmer who won a Nobel prize? He was outstanding in his field. Colin Monks, Romford MORE: The Metro daily cartoon by Guy Venables MORE: Which four Labour MPs have been suspended and why? MORE: 'We tried No7's new Pro Artist Weightless Silk Foundation and it really is silky soft'
Ammon
4 days ago
- Ammon
U.K. men sentenced to more than 4 years in prison for cutting tree
Ammon News - Two British men were sentenced to more than four years in prison on Tuesday for cutting down one of the most iconic trees in England, the Sycamore Gap Tree. The pair were found guilty in May of what a judge called a "deliberate and mindless" act of felling the tree as an apparent joke. Justice Christina Lambert sentenced both Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers to four years and three months in prison during a hearing at the Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday. The tree stood for nearly 200 years in a picturesque valley in northern England, right next to the remnants of Hadrian's Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The stone wall was constructed by Britain's Roman occupiers almost 2,000 years ago as a defensive structure, and the portion of the wall where the tree stood featured in a scene of the 1991 Hollywood blockbuster "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," with Kevin Costner, bringing the bucolic spot and the grand tree some degree of international fame. A jury at the same court had convicted the former friends on two counts each of criminal damage for their 2023 nighttime felling of the tree, for damaging both the sycamore maple tree and the Roman wall. They had faced a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in jail. CBS
