LONDON (Reuters) – A woman who threw a banana milkshake over Britain’s Reform Party leader Nigel Farage during this year’s general election campaign has been handed a suspended sentence, PA Media reported on Monday.
Victoria Thomas Bowen’s 13-week prison sentence was suspended for 12 months after she admitted to assault, PA said, meaning she will not go to jail unless she commits another criminal offence in that time.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court ordered Bowen, 25, to pay 150 pounds ($190) in compensation to Farage and complete 120 hours of unpaid community work, the BBC reported.
Bowen, 25, launched the milkshake at Farage outside a pub in Clacton-on-Sea, southeast England, while he was out campaigning ahead of the July 4 national election, leaving the right-wing politician drenched.
It wasn’t Farage’s first encounter with a banana milkshake. He was also attacked with the beverage in 2019 when he was out campaigning in Newcastle, northern England.
Farage, who helped champion Britain’s departure from the European Union, went on to win a seat in parliament this year.
Bowen pleaded guilty to assault by beating and criminal damage at a court hearing in October, also admitting to causing damage to the jacket of Farage’s security guard.
Her lawyer Andrew Price previously said Bowen decided to plead guilty because she had suffered a number of threats.
($1 = 0.7910 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Catarina Demony; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)
