Protesters against the vaccines and the blockade, who took part in a rally in central London, called Nick Wat a “traitor” and shouted in his face, according to a Westminster court on Wednesday. The political editor of Newsnight said that he felt like a “prey” as he faced the group in Whitehall in June 2021. Watt, who was wearing a BBC cord at the time, said he walked away from the crowd as people started shouting at him but he eventually had to start running. He made his way behind the gates of Downing Street. He told the court: “I was a runner, the calculation I made was that I could run faster than any of them.” Watt, a former chief political correspondent for the Guardian, said he was moving “like an express train” when he left, adding: “I had become their prey, their quarry. “It was like chasing a vulnerable animal.” In a video played in court, part of the mob was heard shouting “traitor”, while another asked “how can you sleep at night?” Christopher Aitken, 62; Martin Hockridge, 58; Djazia Chaib-Eddour, 44; Alexander Peat, 34; and Gary Purnell, 45, deny using threatening, abusive or offensive language or behavior or agony. All were released on bail. Watt had left his office on the parliamentary estate to watch the protest, which he said was initially “reasonably good”. However, he had to use the BBC cordon to identify himself as a police officer when the “atmosphere worsened”. He told the court he decided to move away from Downing Street before he could see that there was a “huge physical threat” as he ran to safety near No. 10. Prosecuted, Alex Matthews told the court that “a frenzy broke out together with fervor” and the five defendants “became involved in the governance of the mob”. Watt told the court that his experience had “shaken him greatly”, adding that although he had covered up turmoil in Northern Ireland, he had “never experienced” such behavior. The court also heard how the incident had a long-term impact on his mental well-being. During the evidence, two people walked away from the public gallery laughing. The trial continues.
