Magistrates urged to 'throw the book' at Grand National eco protesters

Courts are urged to ‘throw the book’ at ‘ignorant anarchists’ who tried to halt the Grand National as 118 people arrested at the event at Aintree are bailed by police

• Those arrested at the racecourse were men and women aged between 18 and 66
• Read more: Mail On Sunday saves the Grand National from militant protestors!

Magistrates were last night urged to ‘throw the book’ at ‘ignorant anarchists’ who tried to stop the Grand National as 118 people arrested on Saturday were bailed pending court summonses.

Animal rights activists who attempted to storm the course at Aintree were halted by police, security and racing fans.

But the resulting 14-minute delay left horses agitated in the sun and was blamed by the trainer of Hill Sixteen for his fall and death at the first fence.

Merseyside Police said last night that of those arrested, 65 people were taken into custody who are ‘being processed and will be bailed pending further enquiries’.

The others arrested were released on Saturday. Those arrested at the racecourse, attempting to block the nearby M57 motorway and in pre-emptive action were men and women aged between 18 and 66-years-old and came from as far as Kent, Southampton, London, Essex, Swansea, Falkirk and Glasgow, the force said.

They were arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including conspiracy to cause public nuisance, obstructing highways and possession of controlled drugs.

Handcuffed activists are guarded by police officers during the Grand National at Aintree

A massive police response was triggered after two protesters made it onto the course

The plot to wreck the national was exposed by an undercover Mail on Sunday investigation earlier this month. It meant police and security guards were able to prepare and minimise the disruption on Saturday.

Animal Rising, the Extinction Rebellion offshoot behind the protest, said it expected members to be summoned to face charges before magistrates at a later date.

In a tweet posted last night, the group said: ‘This week has been just the beginning of Animal Rising, it’s all up from here.’ It also shamelessly promoted a Zoom call it is holding later this evening so would-be recruits could ‘hear more about our plans’.

Tory MP Philip Davies, vice chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Racing and Bloodstock, said: ‘I very much hope that the courts throw the book at these ignorant, virtue signalling anarchists who wouldn’t know one end of a horse from another, and whose antics did more damage to horse welfare on Saturday than anyone else.

Sandy Thomson, trainer of Hill Sixteen, said the horses were ‘very wound up’ by the disruption and that his horse had never fallen before in his 26-race career.

Police rushed to the site and carried the two protesters from the jump, reportedly removing a small part of it in order to do so

A protester runs towards the exterior fence to break into the course

Police escort an animal rights activist from the scene of the racecourse after several attempted to glue themselves to a jump

A detained animal rights activist is carried by police officers

Members of the police remove a protester before the start of the Grand National

He cited the delay and the rushed preparation caused by the protesters as being a major reason for the race’s total of three fallers, along with five unseated jockeys, over the first two fences.

Hill Sixteen was one of three horses who died during this year’s three-day Grand National Festival, down one from four last year. Calls for tough action to repel the protesters had been demanded before the race by figures including former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.

The MP said: ‘All these people ever do is protest – it’s become a way of life for them. The police shouldn’t tolerate it.’

British Horseracing Authority chief executive officer Julie Harrington last night condemned the disruption, but the authority will now ‘analyse the races in painstaking detail’ to understand the cause of the incidents.

At least two activists made it onto the racecourse and attempted to glue themselves to the second jump

Police and race officials confiscate ladders which protesters attempted to use to get inside Aintree today

Police officers restrain several protesters who were foiled in their plan to enter Aintree

Protesters are detained outside the racecourse by police, wearing Animal Rising t-shirts

One of the protestors has their face on the ground while a police officer kneels beside them

Protesters sit together after they were detained by police

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