Edinburgh crime: Activists who smashed Stone of Destiny cabinet at Edinburgh Castle sentenced to unpaid work

Eilidh Priest, 26, and Catriona Roberts, 22, were part of a group who vandalised the glass casing containing the historic artefact at Edinburgh Castle last year.

Priest, also know as Jamie Priest, and Roberts are members of the protest group This Is Rigged and were being shown round the Crown Jewel room by a tour guide when they launched the attack.

The glass cabinet was sprayed with the words ‘The people are mightier than the Lord’ in Gaelic before a male protester was seen to strike the cabinet with items including a hammer and a chisel.

Eilidh (AKA Jamie) Priest, 26, wearing mask, and Catriona Roberts, 22, pictured outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court. | Alexander Lawrie

During the incident Roberts was heard to shout: “A quarter of Scotland is living in poverty, baby products should be reduced to pre-Covid prices. There is no heritage without the people.”

The police were contacted and the protest was said to have “come to an end quite peacefully” at around 10.40am on November 15 last year.

Priest and Roberts, both from Glasgow, appeared on indictment at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month to plead guilty to a charge of striking a display cabinet with a rock, a hammer and a chisel and causing damage at Edinburgh Castle.

They returned to the dock for sentencing today, Thursday, December 5, where Sheriff Alistair Noble was told the damage caused by the protest amounted to £2798.

Sheriff Noble said: “You each pled guilty to a charge of malicious damage of the display case containing the Stone of Destiny - the cost of damage was £2,798.

“I think it [the protest] began with someone saying ‘This is a peaceful protest’ and I don't imagine anyone would have been frightened by what you did but that does not mean it is acceptable.”

Priest was sentenced to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work while Roberts, who had committed the offence while on bail for another matter, was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.

Previously, fiscal depute Matthew Miller told the court a tour guide was forced to press a panic button after witnessing a male protester spay painting the glass cabinet.The group began to film themselves and a number of castle staff were said to have attended the area due to the alarm being activated.

The Stone of Destiny inside the damaged case | Historic Environment Scotland/PA Wire

Co-accused 22-year-old Joe Madden, from Glasgow, did not appear at court and the case against him will call at the capital court in December.

Priest and Roberts, both students, pleaded guilty to a charge of striking a display cabinet with a rock, a hammer and a chisel causing damage to the item at the Crown Jewel room at Edinburgh Castle on November 15 last year.

Following the vandalism attack This Is Rigged released a statement that read: “We targeted the Stone of Destiny because Scotland is at a critical point in its history.

“The reality of our present day is deeply concerning: A quarter of Scotland’s population have experienced food insecurity in the past year. A thousand children were rushed to hospital with acute symptoms of malnutrition.

“Meanwhile Tesco and Sainsbury’s handed shareholders a record breaking £1.2 billion while 1.2 million Scots can’t afford to eat. This is morally unacceptable. Food is a human right, hunger is a political choice.”

The Stone of Destiny is an ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy, used for centuries in the inauguration of its kings. It was seized by Edward I‘s forces from Scone during the English invasion of Scotland in 1296, and was used in the coronation of the monarchs of England.

Today the red sandstone is one of the priceless treasures on display at Edinburgh Castle and it is said the stone will only leave Scotland again for a coronation in Westminster Abbey.