Eco-zealot, 21, shown on video pouring FAECES over Captain Sir Tom Moore memorial is arrested

The eco-zealot seen in video pouring human excrement over a memorial to pandemic hero Captain Sir Tom Moore has been arrested.

Scotland Yard said that a 21-year-old woman was arrested in London today on suspicion of criminal damage relating to an incident at the memorial in Hatton, Derbyshire. 

Footage of the stunt, carried out yesterday for the pressure group End UK Private Jets, shows a woman drenching the monument – which honours the 100-year-old World War Two vet who raised £33million for the NHS during lockdown – in urine and faeces. 

The group claims the stunt was carried out by former medical student Maddie Budd, whose father told MailOnline today that he’s ‘ashamed of her’ and ‘sick with shock’. 

Budd was previously arrested in London in September 2021 while protesting with doctors and health care professionals for Extinction Rebellion.

Former medical student Maddie Budd, 21, filmed herself pouring a bucket of human excrement over a memorial to Captain Sir Tom Moore in a protest over the use of private jets

The vandalised memorial was in memory of Captain Sir Tom Moore, who made international headlines in 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the Covid-19 pandemic

Budd tried to justify her desecration of the memorial by claiming that ‘every time one [private jet] takes off, it pours a bucket of sh*t and blood onto everything that Captain Tom stood for’

End UK Private Jets confirmed Budd’s arrest on Twitter

Budd was arrested in London while attending a protest with other End UK Private Jets members, a group spokesperson alleged. She was reportedly escorted out of the rally by 18 police officers.

‘We both attended an oil protest today,’ the spokesperson told MailOnline. 

He and Budd separated from the demonstration to take a phone call when a group of police officers allegedly descended on them. 

‘We saw about 18 police officers walking together in a single-file sort of thing. It was a bit weird because they don’t normally do that,’ the spokesperson recalled.

He said they were split apart and Budd was searched by police, adding: ‘They arrested Maddie and all 18 police officers escorted her to the custody van.’

The spokesperson said, the from his understanding, the ‘police officers had been sent to find her specifically.’

A solicitor has reportedly been in contact with Budd and the group expects to know more soon.

Meanwhile, the activist’s father, Jim Budd, 62, told MailOnline today that his daughter had ‘gone rogue’ after dropping out of medical school to become a full-time eco-warrior, giving up her career.

Father-of-six Mr Budd, an award-winning glazier, said he had felt sick when he saw the video of her defiling Captain Tom’s image. Mr Budd said he and his charity worker wife Harriet, 63, had messaged Budd after they realised what she had done but received no reply.

Speaking from their home near Kington on the England-Wales border, he told MailOnline close to tears: ‘The shock of this is hurting people and upsetting them.

‘I’m ashamed of her and what she has done. There has been a big public reaction for obvious reasons. I don’t think she understands what the hell she was unleashing.

‘She’s done something horrible without thinking of the consequences.’

Captain Sir Tom Moore raises a thumb aloft in celebration for his incredible work to raise money for the NHS

Jim Budd, the father of eco warrior shown on video making a protest about private jets said he was ashamed and felt sick when he saw it 

He added: ‘I felt sick with shock when I saw it – I have sent her a text message but she has not replied.

‘It goes against all the things you install in your children – it is not normal behaviour. I’m extremely sad. The fact is she has sort of gone rogue.’ 

Until recently Maddie had been at medical school in Manchester ahead of an expected career with the NHS.

But she dropped out to devote all her time to protesting over climate change after developing an initial interest at a young age.

Her father added it was ‘understandable’ for the police to investigate what he called ‘an act of desecration’.

He said: ‘I can’t really apologise on her behalf. Sir Tom was clearly a national hero and the country resonated with his fantastic and amazing actions. 

‘We are trying to sort to out but if the police get involved then so be it.

‘However shocking the future of climate change predictions are, I don’t think it was her duty to desecrate his memory in the way she has. 

‘Her motivations are very real but misplaced. The fact is she has gone rogue, so to speak.

‘When people are young and vulnerable they can go down roads they would not do later in life. It is a horrible thing to have happened and people are obviously upset.

‘It is very hard to understand how young people can feel so threatened by climate change that they can carry out such extreme actions.

‘But I’m not making excuses for her. She has made a terrible mistake. We were horrified, it’s an ongoing worry.’

Mr Budd feels Maddie should be working in a legitimate climate change action group rather than carrying out solo acts of desecration.

He said: ‘Young people do feel desperate and my daughter feels more desperate than most. Her actions were ill judged and awful – this is horrible for any parent to go through.

My wife is really upset. ‘My daughter has given up her career to become a full-time protestor because she feels that strongly. So there’s quite a long lead up to this.

‘Her intentions were to draw attention to this crisis when seemingly no one else does.

‘But this particular action is counter-productive and has done nothing but upset a lot of people. I’m ashamed of her and what she has done.

Video of the stunt has been passed to Derbyshire Police by the company who made the memorial, AGC Fabrications.

Its managing director Austin Cox confirmed to MailOnline this morning: ‘We are working with the police, we have got a crime reference number.

‘We are pursuing it and hoping they will prosecute. I can’t really say more than that at the moment.’

He had earlier publicly tweeted: ‘I am the person who gifted the memorial to Thistley Meadow, and would like to inform you that we will be pursuing Maddie for vandalism, We will work with the police to ensure this taken as far as possible.’

The video will be scrutinised by experts who will decide if the act passes a criminal damage threshold.

Derbyshire Police said: ‘It has been reported to us that the Captain Sir Tom Moore memorial at Thistley Meadow in Hatton has been defaced. Our officers are aware and enquiries are ongoing.’ 

Budd filmed herself pouring the canister of faeces and urine over the memorial to the late captain, who made international headlines in 2020 when he raised millions for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the Covid-19 pandemic.

And in a bizarre justification she later filed a video declaring: ‘People are going to say that he’s a hero, people are going to say that this is profoundly, obscenely disrespectful to his life, and to the NHS he stood up for and I agree.

‘I was studying to become a doctor because I believe in taking care of people. If we believe that the NHS is important, if we believe in taking care of each other, if we believe that NHS workers are doing essential work, why are forcing our healthcare system into collapse, why are we forcing our civilisation into collapse, why is basically no-one taking this genocide of all humanity seriously?

‘All of this is true and the Government won’t even end UK private jets, every time one takes off, it pours a bucket of sh** and blood onto everything that Captain Tom stood for’

Captain Tom began to walk 100 lengths of his garden at the age of 99 in 2020, with the aim of raising £1,000 for NHS charities by his 100th birthday on April 30. 

However, thanks to media appearances, his efforts caught the imagination of the nation and by his birthday he had raised over £30million. He was considered a national treasure by his death on February 2, 2021 after catching Covid.

The video showing Budd pouring faeces over the memorial to the beloved captain, who was awarded a flypast by the RAF and British Army on his 100th birthday and was even knighted by the Queen, has prompted predictable outrage from the public. 

‘How will this convince people to earn private jet use?’ wrote one Twitter user. ‘It looks like a child throwing a disgusting tantrum and being beyond disrespectful. This kind of behavior will not convince anyone to make any changes.’

Another wrote: ‘Hope she gets jail time for this. Not helping your cause at all, if anything I’m now against you and your cause. Disgusting honestly you should be distancing yourselves from this disgraceful behaviour not supporting it.’

While a third raised questions about why Budd is no longer a medical student. 

‘Former medical student? What is she now? Or is that just too embarrassing to publicise.’

And a person who claims to have gifted the memorial said they would be pursuing Budd for vandalism. 

‘We will work with the police to ensure this taken as far as possible.’

According to her Facebook page, Budd was arrested in September last year in London while protesting with doctors and health care professionals for Extinction Rebellion.

Emissions from flights are known to be significantly worse than any other form of transport, and private jets generally produce significantly more emissions per passenger than commercial flights.

Many celebrities have been pulled up for their private jet use, with one of Kylie Jenner’s flights reportedly lasting an offensively short 17 minutes. 

It is estimated that her 17-minute jaunt would’ve resulted in a ton of carbon dioxide emissions.

While in itself not a huge amount, it is about a quarter of the total annual carbon footprint of the average person globally. 

During the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow last year, there was a total of 76 flights involving private jets, or VIP flights, arriving in and around Glasgow in the four days leading up to November 1.