Protesters who smeared Queen Victoria bust at Kelvingrove Museum in jam and porridge appear in court

Two food poverty protesters who smeared a bust of Queen Victoria in jam and porridge have been convicted.

Sarah Martin, 30, and Hannah Taylor, 24, carried out the action at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on March 3, 2024.

The pair – who campaign for ‘This is Rigged ‘ – also spraypainted the word ‘C***’ onto the plinth of the statue.

As a result, an area of the museum was closed to the public for several hours, and the charity Glasgow Life, which owns the museum, had to pay for the repair of the statue and its plinth.

Martin and Taylor were found guilty of a charge of malicious mischief following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Simone Sweeney stated that the pair – of the city’s Shawlands and Drygate – were “intellectual and articulate.”

However, the sheriff added: “I saw CCTV footage and heard evidence from museum staff.

“I heard that the statue belongs to the people of Glasgow and that you attended together to pour jam and porridge over the bust.

“I find you guilty but under the deletion of attempting to glue yourselves to it.”

Martin and Taylor, who represented themselves, were found not guilty of a separate charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

The court heard from museum gallery assistant Michael Barr, who said that the bust has been a permanent fixture for at least the 34 years he has worked there.

Mr Barr stated that he became aware of the protest at around 11.45am.

Prosecutor Jennifer Sillars asked the witness what he saw on the statue, and he replied: “It was red in colour – porridge and jam.”

The fiscal depute asked Mr Barr how he felt about what had happened to the statue, and he said, “They shouldn’t be doing it. This belongs to the city, and they could have damaged it.”

Mr Barr later stated that he saw one of the women attempt to put glue on their hand.

The witness added: “There was a four letter word on it [the plinth] which was ‘c***’.”

Mr Barr told the court that the area of the museum where the statue was housed was closed to the public for a “couple of hours.”

A video of the protest – shot by This is Rigged for social media – was played to the trial.

Martin is heard to say: “We refuse to be dragged back to the Victorian era.”

Museum manager Philippa Macinness stated the cost to conserve the statue and its plinth was £579.

She stated: “This is a five-star visitor attraction and we make sure this happens.

“It was stressful for our gallery assistants.”

Martin told the court in her closing submission: “Mr Barr states that the bust belongs to Glasgow, I am a citizen of Glasgow, and I am interacting with it as necessary.

“I was forced into taking action and I took no reckless or thoughtless action – I sought to express my rights to protest.”

The sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month, and both women had their bail continued in the meantime.