Pink Floyd legend's son charged after 'insult to war dead' during London's student riots

By Katherine Faulkner
Last updated at 11:24 PM on 27th January 2011

The son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour could be facing a jail sentence after he was charged with violent disorder following last year’s student protests.

Cambridge Student Charlie Gilmour was pictured defiling the cenotaph during the protests in December last year.

He was also pictured in the baying mob that surrounded the Royal car carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Charged: Charlie Gilmour will appear in court next month after being charged over his involvement in the student protests

Yesterday the 21-year-old was charged with violent disorder and the theft of a mannequin leg.

Gilmour was one of seven people charged in connection with the protests. He will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on February 10 to face the charges.

if found guilty he could be jailed, with the maximum jail sentences for theft and violent disorder standing at seven and five years, respectively.

Gilmour was forced to issue a grovelling apology to the nation after he was pictured swinging from the Union Flag on the Cenotaph during the tuition fees protest.

Despite being a Cambridge history student, he claimed he did not even know what the monument was.

Pictures later emerged of Gilmour among those around the Royal couple’s car as they made their way to the royal variety performance.

The Duchess of Cornwall was prodded in the ribs through an open window by an anarchist as she and Prince Charles were surrounded by a mob during the protests.

Gilmour has not denied that he was there, but has said: ‘I had no part in the destruction of Prince Charles’s car.’

Talking about defiling the Cenotaph, Gilmour confessed to the Mail: ‘I woke up this morning feeling nothing but shame for what I did.

‘I’m so ashamed of myself that I really want to curl up into a ball and die. It’s awful and I’m very sorry.’

A Cambridge University spokesman had previously stated that no action would be taken against Gilmour, a student at Girton College, because the incident happened ‘outside term time’.

Anarchy UK: Gilmour appeared to start his protest outside the Supreme Court

Last night a spokesman for Cambridge University refused to say whether Gilmour would be disciplined for his actions following the charges.

He said: ‘He’s innocent until proven guilty. It’s a police matter now so we cannot comment yet.’

Unlike some impoverished students campaigning against the fees rise, Gilmour himself is unlikely to face money troubles.

His father is estimated to be worth £78million, ranking 861st on the Sunday Times Rich List.

He was adopted by the musician when his mother, author and journalist Polly Samson, separated from his real father, the poet Heathcote Williams, and married the Pink Floyd star in 1994. They had three more children.

They recently bought a £3million, six-storey home in Hove and also own a mews house in London.

Flying the red flag: Gilmour is surrounded by police as he waves a banner in Parliament Square

Following the protests, Gilmour issued a statement through his father’s PR firm.

He said: ‘I would like to express my deepest apologies for the terrible insult to the thousands of people who died bravely for our country that my actions represented.

‘My intention was not to attack or defile the Cenotaph. Running along with a crowd of people who had just been violently repelled by the police, I got caught up in the spirit of the moment.

‘I did not realise that it was the Cenotaph and if I had, I certainly would not have done what I did.

‘I feel additionally mortified that my moment of idiocy has distracted so much from the message yesterday’s protest was trying to send out.

‘Those who are commemorated by the Cenotaph died to protect the very freedoms that allow the people of Britain the right to protest and I feel deeply ashamed to have, although unintentionally and unknowingly, insulted the memory of them.

‘Ignorance is the poorest of excuses but I am sincerely sorry.’

Gilmour’s musician father is likely to have numbered among his staunchest critics following the incident.

Privilege: A 14-year-old Gilmour (right) with his mother, journalist Polly Samson, sister Alice and father David after the Pink Floyd guitarist was awarded with a CBE by the Queen in 2003

There is a moving reference to the Cenotaph in one of Pink Floyd’s songs, the poignant Southampton Docks.

And David Gilmour’s former bandmate Roger Waters lost his father in the Second World War and has written about his loss extensively throughout his career, including in a number of Pink Floyd songs.

The song When The Tigers Broke Free chronicles an attack on the Royal Fusiliers by German Tiger tanks. The cover of Floyd’s album The Final Cut features a poppy and four Second World War medal ribbons.

Edward Woollard, the 18 year old student who admitted throwing a fire extinguisher from the roof of Millbank Tower during November’s tuition fees protests was sentenced to 32 months in jail earlier this month.

Last night a Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘Detectives from Operation Malone have charged seven individuals in connection with the incidents of disorder seen across central London in November and December of last year.

‘Following a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service, the men were charged with a range of offences, including violent disorder and criminal damage. A further five were dealt with by way of caution or reprimand.

‘Inquiries into all four incidents continue.’

Running riot: Thousands of students clashed with riot police as they demonstrated outside Parliament over the government's decision to increase university fees

London's burning: Police made dozens of arrests during the impassioned protests

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