A BBC reporter said he felt “very scared” and “shaken” while being chased by a mob of anti-waxers in London last year.
Protesters against vaccines and the blockade, who attended a rally in central London, called Nick Watt a “traitor” and shouted in his face, Westminster magistrates heard on Wednesday.
Newsnight’s political editor said he felt “prey” when he faced the group in Whitehall in June 2021.
Watt, who was wearing a BBC belt at the time, said he walked away from the crowd when people started shouting at him, but eventually had to start running. He made his way behind the gates of Downing Street.
He told the court: “I used to be a runner, the calculation I made was that I could run faster than any of them.
Watt, who had previously been the Guardian’s chief political correspondent, said he was moving “like an express train” when he escaped, adding: “I had become their prey, their career. It was like hunting a vulnerable animal. ”
In a video released in court, one could hear some of the crowd shouting “traitor” while another asked, “How can you sleep at night?”
Christopher Aitken, 62, Martin Hokridge, 58, Jazia Chaib-Edur, 44, Alexander Pete, 34, and Gary Purnell, 45, all deny using threatening, offensive or offensive words or behavior intended to cause harassment, anxiety or suffering. They were all released on bail.
Watt left his office at the parliament mansion to watch the protest, which he said was initially “reasonably good-natured”. However, he had to use his BBC belt to identify himself as a press to the police when the “atmosphere worsened”.
He told the court that he had decided to move away, away from Downing Street, before seeing that there was a “huge physical threat” as he ran safely near №10.
Accusing Alex Matthews told the court that “the frantic incident was heated up in a joint fire” and the five defendants “taken over the management of the crowd.”
Watt told the court that the experience had left him “very shaken”, adding that although he reflected on the unrest in Northern Ireland, he had “never experienced” such behavior.
The court also heard how the incident had a lasting effect on his mental well-being. During the evidence, two people were removed from the public gallery for laughter.
The process continues.
Add Comment