Hunt saboteur is accused of faking farmer attack footage
A HUNT saboteur from Coventry is standing trial accused of doctoring video footage to falsely show him being attacked by a farmer.
It was David George Graham, who was trespassing on farmland at the time, who initially reported the incident to the police and he handed over footage showing an assailant repeatedly kicking him.
However, he is alleged that he edited the video on a loop to give a bogus illustration and no unlawful attack happened.
The 35-year-old defendant, who is from Pepys Corner in Tile Hill, is a member of the West Midlands Hunt Saboteur group.
He denies two counts of perverting the course of justice by making a false complaint of assault and providing Leicestershire Police with two copies of video recorded evidence which he knew had been altered in support of the assault allegation against farmer, Henry Milner, also known as Harry.
David Lee, prosecuting at Leicester Crown Court, said the defendant was monitoring the activities of the Atherstone Hunt in Newton Burgoland, in North West Leicestershire, on the morning of Saturday, March 5, 2016.
The hunt legitimately crossed land on the Milner’s family farm, run by Henry Milner and his brother Thomas.
The brothers told the jury they spotted two trespassers, who strayed off a public footpath on their land, which was muddy and wet.
They both separately said they travelled on a quad bike to ask the trespassers to return to the footpath - but the two men wearing balaclava hoods refused.
There was some arguing, pushing and shoving as the intruders defied their request and continued across another field to a locked roadside gateway, they claimed.
Both denied using unreasonable force to escort the defendant and his associate off their land.
At one stage Thomas Milner took Graham’s handheld camera but it was returned once they reached the gate to exit the land.
The court was told two days after the incident, Graham allegedly falsely reported being assaulted by Henry Milner and claimed he suffered injuries to his ribs causing difficulty breathing.
He provided video footage from a second camera, worn on his body, which he incorrectly told the police were original recordings of the attack, it was claimed.
In Graham’s statement he said he did not know the farmers but was given their names.
He told the police: “Harry took me to the ground by grabbing me me. Harry then jumped on top of me and then I think he punched me in the face.
“At this point I was on my back... I manage to get on to my knees in an effort to get up. I then get kicked or pushed back over by Harry Milner.
“He then starts kicking me in the side of my rib area. Then they start shouting at us to leave and get off the land.”
Mr Lee told the jury the video footage showed Henry Milner raising his leg and putting it down several times whilst saying “now” each time.
But it had been edited on a loop, he claimed.
He alleged a prosecution expert found the recording was doctored to show false images of an assault by kicking.
As a result, Henry Milner gave a voluntary police interview, under caution, four months after the incident - and denied any assault took place.
Giving evidence in court he said the footage had clearly been tampered with and said: “I never kicked him.”
He also denied punching him and said he had merely taken a step near the defendant, who had fallen to the ground, which had been edited.
He told the jury: “They were wearing balaclavas, all you could see was their eyes. It was intimidating.”
Under cross-examination, Henry Milner said he only realised the trespassers were saboteurs on arrival, when seeing their cameras.
He said his mother formerly rode with Atherstone Hunt, which had permission to cross their land, but he had no particular affinity with the hunt - or strong feelings against hunt saboteurs - as his lifelong interest was rugby.
Graham’s defence barrister, Michael Goold, accused Henry Milner of dragging Graham across the fields, which he denied.
Henry Milner replied: “Any normal member of society would say sorry and they would return to the footpath, which happens a lot with dog walkers.
“They should have gone back to the footpath and not continued to trespass on someone’s private property.”
He said it was “slippery and wet” and “I didn’t intend to push him to the ground”.
His brother, Thomas Milner, said he could not remember deliberately pushing over Graham’s associate, who is shown in footage on the ground.
He added: “We were trying to push them back and there was a time when we were on the floor.
“We marched with the camera to the gateway, to the road to get them off our land, where there was a van full of their friends or associates.”
The trial continues.