A graduate who vandalised a cabinet containing the Stone of Destiny in Edinburgh Castle has been given a community payback order.
Joe Madden, 22, was an activist with campaign group This is Rigged when he attacked a display case containing a crown and the Stone of Destiny in a protest over the cost-of-living crisis, causing around £3,000 of damage.
He was with two other students, Jamie Priest, 26, and Catriona Roberts, 22, who were also spared jail for their role in the protest on November 15, 2023.
Madden pleaded guilty to damaging the display cabinet in the crown jewels room by hitting it with a rock, hammer, chisel and similar implements, when he appeared in court on Christmas Eve.
The graduate, who lives in Dunbar, East Lothian, was sentenced to a community payback order at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.
The court previously heard Madden was seen holding a “brick or stone which he attempted to smash the cabinet with” by a tour guide who pressed a panic button.
Fiscal depute Nadia Stewart previously told the court a tour guide had been taking visitors through the crown jewels room and heard someone say “this is a peaceful protest”, then “turned around and saw Madden standing in front of the cabinet which contains the crown and Stone of Destiny”.
Ms Stewart said: “She then saw what appeared to be spray paint being sprayed on to the cabinet.”
Sentence was deferred until Thursday for social work reports.
Defending, Clare Ryan told the court on Thursday: “I understand that the damage was the terms of same as co-accused, around £3,000. That was the gist of the amount of damage.
“Mr Madden has no previous convictions. He pled at first diet. He is now residing in Dunbar just after finishing his degree.
“It’s very important principles he still adheres to. He is working with the organisation, but he has no interest in taking part in further protest that ends up in the justice system. He has found it quite difficult.
“The co-accused were dealt with by community payback order and unpaid work.
“He is first offender and pled at the first opportunity. I would ask you to take all that into account.”
Sheriff Kenneth Campbell said: “I heard the circumstances of this matter in front of me previously. Now I have social work report which is helpful on expanding on your circumstances, and that you appreciate the seriousness and significance.
“There is a right to express oneself and engage in political activity but it is not unqualified and this crossed the line.”
Madden was sentenced to a 12-month community payback order, and 180 hours of unpaid work.
The Stone of Destiny has been associated with the Scottish and UK monarchies for centuries.
It was long used in the inauguration of Scottish monarchs.
However, in 1296 it was seized by King Edward I of England as war loot and taken to London.
It was built into a coronation chair at Westminster Abbey and was used in the coronation ceremonies of kings and queens of England and, later, Great Britain after the Scottish and English crowns were united in the early 17th century.
In 1950, a group of students carried out an audacious raid to steal the stone from Westminster Abbey and return it to Scotland to try and advance the cause of independence.
The raid led to the sandstone block splitting in two but it was later recovered.
The Stone of Destiny was used in Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 and also in the coronation of the King in 2023.
It was formally returned to Scotland in 1996 to go on display at Edinburgh Castle, but in March last year it left the capital for Perth Museum as the centrepiece of a £27 million redevelopment.
