Woman convicted of hitting Blair with tomato

A woman who hit British Prime Minister Tony Blair with a tomato during a protest against sanctions against Iraq was today convicted of a public order offence.

Lynn Marie Coles, 26 of Robertson Road, Eastville, Bristol, admitted throwing the tomato at Mr Blair when he visited Bristol on 9 January, but denied a charge of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress.

Convicting her at Bristol Magistrates’ Court, chairwoman Mrs Sara Taylor said that although Coles’s action was not premeditation but was instantaneous, she nevertheless intended to hit the Prime Minister.

"We therefore find you guilty of this offence," Mrs Taylor said.

Coles was given a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £50 towards costs.

Coles, who has bright yellow hair and appeared in court wearing red leopard-skin trousers, showed no reaction while a large group of friends, including house-mate Jo Wilding, who was convicted at another trial of the same offence after throwing a mouldy tangerine, clapped loudly at the sentence.

Miss Sarah Regan, prosecuting, told the court that in a police interview Coles apologised for any offence she caused by throwing the tomato.

"Ms Coles said I admit I was very naughty and shouldn’t have done it," Ms Regan said.

"I did throw a rotten, squishy, very soft, not that offensive tomato, it was all very much a spur-of-the-moment thing."

Ms Regan said Ms Coles had said her intentions were "somewhat misguided" and agreed to "take the bill" for any damage caused.

Roger Curry who arrested Coles said: "The defendant was very, very happy, very pleased she was being arrested.

"She was shouting 'Got him with veg, got him with a tomato'."

Coles told the court: "I don’t know what came over me."

She had grabbed the bag of tomatoes off another member of the crowd who had been throwing them "because I thought I was a better shot", she said.

Tim Rose, defending, said there was no dispute that Coles threw the tomato but that she was not guilty of the charge as there was no intention to cause harassment.

He said that the original charge of criminal damage had been dropped after a "political decision" was taken, and that the same decision had been made not to charge her with common assault or "battery with a tomato".