A teenager who tried to burn the Union Flag on The Cenotaph during a Black Lives Matter protest has avoided a jail sentence.
19-year-old Astrophel Sang was seen climbing the Whitehall war memorial on June 7 and using a lighter to try to set the flag alight.
Sang, from Highgate in Birmingham, was later arrested and convicted after pleading guilty to attempted arson.
The Coventry University photography student could have faced up to 18 months in prison, but Judge Christopher Hehir today gave him a two year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £340 in court costs.
Judge Hehir told Sang: "I am at a loss as to understanding why you or anyone, in the course of a Black Lives Matter protest, would seek to target The Cenotaph.
"The Cenotaph commemorates all those who have died fighting for this country, and they weren't all white you know.
"The fallen commemorated at The Cenotaph includes people from all colours and creeds from many different people from the world who came together to fight racism and fascism in World War Two.
"Had this country and her allies not prevailed between 1939 and 1945 you would not have been free to attend a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020."
Ahead of sentencing, Sang was read 12 victim impact statements from veterans of war and their relatives.
In one, Asma Bibi, whose grandfather was part of the Indian Merchant Navy, wrote: "I feel the person who did this disrespected our own ancestors too. Half the world came together against fascism of the worst kind.
"It really cut deep when I saw such a mindless act of vandalism. It gives us all a space to remember the fallen and say a prayer to them and it breaks my heart that someone could do something so hateful and desecrate it."
In defence, Sang said that he 'didn't know' the significance of the war memorial, and was sorry for his actions.
At the protest, Sang was being 'hostile' with police, the prosecution said.
He climbed the monument and, despite some other protesters asking him to 'stop what he was doing' he kept on 'hanging on the flags'.
After eventually being coaxed down, he told officers 'I didn't try to rip it, I tried to set fire to it.'
Defending, Nathaniel Wade said: "The irony, perhaps, is that he doesn't seek to tie anything he did to the cause of systemic prejudice and battling that - it had nothing to do with it.
"And the irony is that he does recognise he did damage, as much to issues raised by the veterans and members of the public concerned with the commemoration of war dead by what he did, but also the cause of addressing systemic prejudice.
"The irony is to set those two causes against each other when we heard from Ms Bibi that they're aligned."
Before sentencing Sang, the judge added: "Most people have the sense not to get too worked up about flags.
"It's a shame that you chose to get worked up about a flag and I have to acknowledge the considerable hurt your behaviour will have caused many people."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: UK News