Prison for ‘warrior’ who halted boat race
A ‘‘CLASS warrior’’ who disrupted the Oxford-Cambridge boat race smiled yesterday as he was jailed for six months after a judge accused him of being hypocritical and prejudiced.
The race had to be stopped when the crews were neck-andneck after Trenton Oldfield, 36, leapt into the Thames. Officials feared that he would be killed if he were accidentally struck by an oar.
He was found guilty of causing a public nuisance after telling a jury at Isleworth Crown Court that he staged the protest because the race was a symbol of elitism. Supporters said that Oldfield’s sentence would make him a martyr for the right to protest and claimed that he was the victim of a campaign to silence demonstrators.
But it will also be seen as a warning to the increasing number of people taking direct action to highlight their causes that the public also have rights.
Minutes before he was jailed, Oldfield vowed to continue his ‘‘guerrilla’’ protests. He said that his own privileged background gave him an insight into the power of the ruling class.
Judge Anne Molyneux told the Australian that he had no regard for the ‘‘sacrifices’’ made by the rowers. ‘‘You made your decision to sabotage the race based on the membership or perceived membership of a group to which you took exception,’’ she said. ‘‘That is prejudice. No good ever comes of prejudice. Every individual and group in society is entitled to respect.
‘‘It is a necessary part of a liberal and tolerant society that no one should be targeted because of a characteristic to which another takes issue.’’
Oldfield was criticised by the judge for smiling during the sentencing and was ordered to pay £750 costs (nearly $1500).
Judge Molyneux said Oldfield’s protest was ‘‘ disproportionate’’ and dangerous and that there was no immediate need for him to act as he had done. He did not have the right to prevent the public from watching a sporting event.
Oldfield swam in front of the two boats between the two and threemile markers of the race on the Thames in West London on April 5. It was the first time the race had been halted by a person in the water in its 158-year history. The race was restarted 30 minutes later and Cambridge won.
Oldfield said that he did not regret his protest and rejected the idea that he could have been injured, saying during his childhood in Australia he had become used to avoiding surfboards and coral.
He was ridiculed by some commentators who noted that he attended one of Australia’s most prestigious schools, obtained a masters degree at the London School of Economics and was a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Benjamin Newton, in mitigation, said Oldfield ‘‘ran the risk of selfsacrifice’’. He added that ‘‘although one has to accept that any act of civil disobedience and protest is going to have consequences’’ they are treated ‘‘more leniently when the motivation is honourable’’.
Oldfield, of Whitechapel, East London, claimed that government ministers had lobbied Bernard Hogan- Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, to ensure the original charge was altered to increase the likelihood he would be jailed. ‘‘I deliberately targeted the boat race because I knew it would not affect a single working person,’’ he said.