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00:01Work to remove the sycamore gap tree from Hadrian's wall began earlier.
00:06A crane was brought in to take the trunk away due to its size and weight.
00:11You know, today really feels a bit like, it's a bit like going to a funeral, I think.
00:17I was 100% in mourning.
00:22I actually used to drive past the tree on the way to work.
00:27And I would have posted on social media and say, hey, the tree's looking good today.
00:31And it would get thousands of reactions.
00:36It was really sad to see it being taken away.
00:40I wasn't functioning properly actually. I wasn't myself.
00:44He had a starring role in a Kevin Costner movie.
00:49Two more people have been arrested over the deliberate felony.
00:52It came out that two people were being arrested.
00:54Nobody knew them. No one's seen them in here before.
00:57They weren't even from the area.
00:58You know, and I was thinking, that's a bit far-fetched.
01:00They're clearly professionals.
01:02They're probably going to work really hard to make sure that they're not able to be caught.
01:06Take me on my phone, Dan.
01:08Dan has said we won't find anything on his phone. However...
01:11Potentially, you've got fantastic evidence.
01:18That's what my guts have got to do with me.
01:21This was going to completely turn their lives upside down.
01:24The forensic plot nest was able to say that that wedge had been removed from the tree at the sycamore gap.
01:49But I needed to identify the vehicle that it was in.
01:59I needed an expert to confirm somehow that the image of the saw and the wedge was taken in the boot space of the Black Range Rover Sport seized from Daniel Graham.
02:11At the time, I wasn't really given that much information about this case at all.
02:17All I knew was related to criminal damage and that there was an image.
02:21And I was asked to compare that with CSI photographs of this recovered Range Rover.
02:27The luxury in this case was that the imagery is of very high quality and the lighting conditions are also very good.
02:40So if we actually zoom in into this image, we can see crux patterns of rust, wear and tear.
02:48So, you know, these are details that, in reality, you very rarely get to see.
03:00I was given CSI photographs showing all the features.
03:07Once we have them side by side, the one feature that really stood out was this quite unique-looking crack at the door latch.
03:17This crack is actually very unique, very similar to a fingerprint, because it's not just a linear crack.
03:25It's got a lot of different angles. It changes in its form from left to right.
03:30So there's a lot of detail overall.
03:32We were able to match the position and the form throughout the crack in both sets of images.
03:38In this instance, the evidence was so strong that, in my opinion, there was no doubt that the two sets of images belong to the same vehicle.
03:52Emil Polito confirmed that the photograph matched Daniel Graham's Range Rover Sport.
04:07But I asked him to look at the metadata ingrained within the image.
04:14A lot of people would actually be surprised how much data you can get from an image.
04:19There's a lot of contextual information that you can find from metadata.
04:23For example, the GPS coordinates of where the image was taken,
04:28which we can then map to a mapping service and find out the exact address of where that image was taken.
04:36The GPS pin dropped beautifully to the middle of Daniel Graham's yard.
04:44It was a satisfying moment.
04:54I had this photograph with the wedge on his phone, in his yard, in his car.
05:03In relation to the video, it also had associated metadata,
05:09which showed that it was recorded on that telephone at 32 minutes past midnight in the early hours of the 28th.
05:18But very significantly, it showed that that phone was positioned at the Sycamore Gap.
05:28The pieces for the jigsaw were starting to slot very nicely together.
05:33So, on the 3rd of November, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were arrested for further interviews.
05:46I hadn't done a serious category crime interview before.
05:50However, it was decided between Becky and Callum that I should give the opportunity to interview them.
05:57So, I was quite apprehensive, you know, we just didn't know what was going to happen.
06:06The time is 15.01.
06:10We chose to interview Dan first because the evidence had been on his phone.
06:15So, you're further arrested due to further evidence coming to light for criminal damage in relation to the,
06:25to the world famous Sycamore tree being felled, all right?
06:30He was instantly hostile.
06:33He didn't want to sit and face us.
06:34He didn't want to look directly at us.
06:37He was already quite angry that he had been rearrested again within a week.
06:41So, this is a video taken from your phone.
06:56Dan didn't seem very interested.
06:59He wasn't shocked.
07:01He didn't say, where's that come from?
07:03Have you definitely found that on my phone?
07:05So, that video, what can you tell me about it?
07:08I can't tell you nothing about it because I couldn't see it.
07:11What about the audio?
07:13None of my saws that you've got sound or anything like that.
07:17What about any saws of your associates?
07:21No problem.
07:25Can you do something with this video and give this light?
07:27We can.
07:28Because I'm pretty sure you're going to be able to see what the person is watching.
07:29Yeah.
07:31He said, if we lightened that video, we would see somebody next to it.
07:36Which me and my colleague was just shocked about.
07:39Is he now saying that he knows that someone's standing next to that tree, cutting that tree down?
07:45We believe that that's a video of the Sycamore Gap tree being felled.
07:50Do anything you want to say to that?
07:53No problem.
07:55That's when we're thinking he knows a lot more about this video than he wants to let on about.
08:02So, these are two images that were located on the mobile phone that this is from, yes?
08:09What can you tell us about these?
08:10No problem.
08:13Have you seen these images before?
08:15No problem.
08:17Do you recognise that soul?
08:18No problem.
08:20Has someone else taken these pictures on your phone?
08:35You are the owner of Black Range Rover?
08:37Yeah.
08:38Yeah.
08:39Are you on the Black Range Rover spot?
08:41On the night in question, were you driving that vehicle?
08:44No.
08:46Has I had enough access to it?
08:49No comment.
08:51So, we've got CCTV footage of said vehicle in the area where the tree was felled late on the 27th, going into the 28th.
08:59It doesn't mean I'm doing a crime, does it?
09:02No.
09:03It doesn't mean I've done a crime.
09:04No, but I'm asking you...
09:05I understand what you're saying.
09:06I understand what you're saying.
09:07But, like, there's kids involved there, there's kids involved in all this shit.
09:12Right.
09:13That's all I'm going to say to that.
09:14Do you know?
09:15So, for the rest of that comment there, no comment.
09:17I'm not trying to be horrible.
09:18I'm going to take it personally.
09:19Don't worry about that.
09:20Believe me, I'm not very happy with myself.
09:22Right.
09:23Do you want to expand on that?
09:24Because you said that kids were involved.
09:27That's all I'm going to say on them.
09:29Right.
09:30So, you're saying that?
09:32We obviously know that Adam has children.
09:35We felt strongly that he was trying to throw us in a direction of Adam.
09:42Was he trying to distance himself from this case?
09:46I mean, this is your interview. This is your chance to find an account.
09:49I'm not going to be a space like, how you're going to focus on one's life.
09:52And I'm not going to destroy kids' lives either.
09:53So, we'll just cut off on that.
09:58Are you denying, denying being responsible for filling the tree?
10:02One thousand percent.
10:03I'll tell you someone now.
10:04Was not me stood by that tree of a change.
10:05So, I was not me stood looking at that tree.
10:07All right.
10:08Mm-hm.
10:10See how it looks.
10:11My mobile phone.
10:13My vehicle.
10:14Yeah.
10:16It doesn't look good, does it?
10:17I know someone I am at this point now.
10:19I don't give a fuck how it looks if you're under charge.
10:21But you're fucking charged for doing what you just want, all right?
10:24I know I've done what I haven't done.
10:26Now, I had no reason on this planet to go and fell that fucking tree, all right?
10:29I've never been a fucking grass.
10:31And I'm not going to start fucking grassing on Tom, Dick and Harry,
10:33or whoever they are.
10:34It doesn't matter, all right?
10:35I'm not going to start wrecking people's families and all this.
10:38If I've got to take the blame, it is what it is.
10:40He doesn't want to be your grass.
10:43He doesn't want to throw someone else under the bus.
10:45He doesn't want to say who it is.
10:47It's almost as if he wants to come across as the good guy.
10:49I don't have any family yardage.
10:52There's fuck all that can bother me.
10:54I'm not really bothered.
10:56He's got old people.
10:58I've got young kids now.
11:01That's what I'm gonna say.
11:02I'm not gonna ask for the kids' life.
11:09OK.
11:10So the time is 15.56.
11:13I'm on an interview there with Daniel.
11:19It was almost childlike.
11:21You could see that evidentially he'd been pushed into a corner.
11:26So there was that shift to,
11:29well, I know who it was,
11:32but I'm not gonna tell you.
11:36We left that interview and known
11:38that we now had to interview Adam.
11:40Obviously, the issue we have is,
11:42all the evidence we have is on Dan's phone.
11:44We didn't have much to link with Adam.
11:47We know that we haven't got any hard proof that Adam is involved.
12:04We were gonna have to try and catch Adam out at this point.
12:07So the date today is the 3rd of November, 2023.
12:12Adam came in totally different to Dan.
12:15More of a calm kind of guy.
12:17We just hoped that he would give us something.
12:21These images have been taken.
12:24What do you think these photographs are of, Adam?
12:27No problem.
12:28Do you recognize this photograph?
12:30No problem.
12:31Did you take this photograph?
12:32No problem.
12:33Do you recognize...?
12:34It was very clear from the outset
12:36that he was just gonna provide no comment.
12:39What can you tell me about this video, Adam?
12:41No comment.
12:42What's happening?
12:43No comment.
12:45What's the audio in the video?
12:47No comment.
12:48Do you know who took the video?
12:50No comment.
12:53I asked him if his phone that we had seized on his arrest
12:57had capability for the internet.
12:59Does that phone have capability of WhatsApp?
13:02Do you know?
13:05I don't think so.
13:06You don't think so?
13:07OK.
13:08That was the only question in the interview that he replied to.
13:11We felt strongly that there obviously is another phone
13:14that we didn't have.
13:16This is your opportunity to tell us what has happened.
13:19Do you know anything?
13:21Are you prepared to tell the police?
13:23No comment.
13:24Hmm.
13:25Are you fearful of anyone?
13:26No.
13:27No.
13:32So we came out of the interview not feeling any clearer.
13:36We haven't got any hard proof that Adam is involved in this crime.
13:40The evidence that we have wasn't going to be strong enough for charge at this time.
13:46We needed to find more evidence.
13:52Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were bailed for a second a time.
13:57Which was frustrating.
14:01Two men have since been released on police bail.
14:06To hear that they were released, it was just this horrible feeling.
14:11We didn't understand what the heck was going on.
14:13We were massively worried that they had the wrong guys again.
14:15I knew I was doing absolutely everything I could, but I'd started to receive emails questioning whether the police had kicked this into the long grass.
14:30As time went on, we just all started to lose confidence.
14:35Maybe this is how it's going to be.
14:36No one's going to be caught for it.
14:37No one's going to be held accountable.
14:39One of the most symbolically powerful trees in all England has been felt.
14:48The reaction has been immense and tells us something.
14:51Not just about this tree, but about our connection to trees more broadly.
14:55I mean, I just see this as part of a broader war on nature, I think.
14:59Nature is under attack and has been for a long time.
15:09Literally, at the end of the day, when it's all fucking said and done, everything fucking boils down, it's just a fucking tree.
15:17We've got loads of trees, haven't we? Loads of trees, okay? It's just a tree.
15:21Why is this tree so special, though? It was going to die anyway.
15:26Right, good morning, everybody.
15:28Good morning, Mr. London.
15:31Why do you think Sycamore Gap is so important to us?
15:34This tree, which is only about two miles away from us.
15:37Is it because some people got married and engaged nearly?
15:41Excellent.
15:42It was a very special place for people and it's on a school badge, too.
15:49My mum was in hospital, so me and my dad went to Sycamore Gap and it just helped me calm down and it made me feel quite happy.
15:58Lovely.
15:59If you were to categorise this tree amongst all the other trees that get chopped down on a daily basis, then yes, it seems ridiculous to be upset.
16:10But if you're talking about the human connection and the impact it's had on people's lives, then yeah, that's why it's a story.
16:16The case is quite an emotive case. The public, the press wanted to know what was going on. What do you know? What can you tell us about the tree? What's the evidence?
16:27But we needed to keep this really close to us.
16:29Our plan was to just try and build on what we had. We needed more on Dan's phone, but it needed to be digitally downloaded by our forensics unit, so this took a couple of weeks to come back.
16:42As soon as it had come back, I could actually see that there was messages between Dan and Adam.
16:55The day after the Sycamore Gap tree has been felled, Adam sends Dan a screenshot of a Facebook post that says it's an awful moment that Sycamore Gap is being felled.
17:06Dan quickly sends Adam a text message saying, here we go.
17:10So it feels like, you know, this is the moment that they've been waiting for.
17:17Because the next message that Dan sends Adam is not a bad angle on that stump, clearly professional.
17:23I took that to mean, you know, one of them's done this, and it's almost like a joke between them.
17:29They're reveling in it.
17:33They then just send each other message after message, link after link about this tree.
17:38This is when I found the voice notes that they'd actually been sending each other.
17:44It's on fucking Sky News as we speak.
17:48It's on fucking Sky News as we speak.
17:51The tree at Sycamore Gap.
17:52When the world is waking up and finding that the Sycamore Gap tree is being felled, they then had started voice noting each other.
18:00It's on fucking Sky News as we speak.
18:03It will be on ITV News tonight.
18:05Well-loved and well-known.
18:06ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, like news, news, news. I think it's going to go wild.
18:16It was one of the most photographed in the world.
18:18I couldn't believe that I actually had their voices actually discussing this.
18:22It's gone viral. It is worldwide.
18:30Dan and Adam are obviously watching the news.
18:34They've got no remorse about this.
18:36They almost had happiness in their voice.
18:38Then I began to wonder, is this why they've done it?
18:41Were they doing this because they wanted to be on the news and they wanted to be famous?
18:45A couple of hours later, there was even more voice notes.
18:54Weak! Fucking weak!
18:57You didn't realise how heavy?
19:00Shitties!
19:08I remember the public had commented that whoever had cut down Sycamore Gap must have been very weak.
19:13must have been very weak to do this.
19:16Dan was almost now mocking this Facebook comment.
19:19Fucking weak!
19:22How heavy? Shitties!
19:26Is he referring to how heavy equipment is when they've carried this over?
19:31Weak! Fucking weak!
19:33Weak? We had to lug this. We're not weak.
19:37I'd like to see Kippy launching an operation like we did last night.
19:39Longing an operation like we did last night.
19:40I'd like to see you Kipping launch an operation like we did last night.
19:46Like we did last night...
19:49Launch an operation like we did last night.
19:51Like we did last night. Like we did last night.
19:55This was a big breakthrough,
19:57to have Adam saying
19:59this is what we've done.
20:00put Adam at a level pegging with Dan.
20:08It's them, reveling in what they've done.
20:18I was satisfied that we had a very strong case.
20:22So the file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.
20:26Whilst I was very confident that the evidence painted a picture of what they did that night,
20:34it was then up to the CPS to decide whether that was strong enough to charge them.
20:39I was aware that there were certain items that had been seized from Daniel Graham that bore no investigative significance.
20:48So I arranged to meet him to be able to hand these items back.
20:54When I was carrying some stuff to place in the back of his vehicle,
21:00he said he wanted to show me something.
21:02And he then produced a mobile phone and showed me a series of photographs that I always refer to as the owl photographs.
21:15The owl photographs were taken in the workshop where Adam Carruthers worked.
21:28And in the background, on the floor behind Adam Carruthers, were, I think from memory, there were about 11 saws.
21:46One of them was a very long bar saw.
22:01In his first interview, Adam had said he had nothing to do with chainsaws.
22:06And if you had any training in the chainsaw operating chainsaws or anything, you want to ask?
22:11No, none of that.
22:12Like, if I'm honest, I'm not really keen on them to be fair because they are nasty things, you know.
22:17Yet, this was his workshop, brimming with all manner of chainsaws.
22:22For somebody that quite vociferously said they weren't a grass.
22:30Daniel Graham was quite prepared at that point to guide the investigation towards his friend Adam Carruthers.
22:38So it was an interesting turn.
22:43These two friends, they're losing that element of trust.
22:46Six months after they were first arrested, I received the official correspondence back from the Crown Prosecution Service
23:02to say that they were charging Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers.
23:07I would like to say I was elated.
23:11I think the feeling was, to be more honest, relief.
23:16Because you've lived and breathed it for six months.
23:20Two men from Cumbria have been charged over the felling of...
23:2538-year-old Daniel Graham and 31-year-old Adam Carruthers have both also been charged.
23:30And it's incredible how quickly that went global.
23:33When given the option to enter, please, the man in the balaclava and sunglasses, Daniel Graham, said,
23:45not guilty.
23:48Why are they wearing balaclavas?
23:51Immediately the fact that they did that evoked a bit of anger.
23:55Thinking, wow, it probably is you guys then.
23:58Good to see you guys, sir.
23:59Good to see you guys, sir.
24:17People want them locked away forever.
24:20I don't want that.
24:22At the end of the day, it's a tree.
24:25It makes us feel quite upset for them.
24:26I want to go and give them a cuddle and say, I'm not angry and it'll all be all right.
24:33You must be the only person in the summer who's locked on me.
24:37I know, possibly I am.
24:39I do want to go and give them a cuddle, I do.
24:42And say, I don't know why you did it, but the tree will regrow and she'll forgive you.
24:49Hi.
24:50I was quite shocked about the malice of people and the mob mentality of wanting blood.
24:58I started thinking that maybe the anger was disproportionate to what had actually happened.
25:03PHONE RINGS
25:13How can I help?
25:15How are you doing?
25:16I've tried to phone Cumbria Police to report some information, but they said I need to ring Northumbria Police.
25:21PHONE RINGS
25:22I tend to take your name, please.
25:24PHONE RINGS
25:25I'm just reporting it anonymously.
25:29During the period of time running up to the trial, I was made aware of a 101 call.
25:35PHONE RINGS
25:36What is it you're ringing about?
25:37PHONE RINGS
25:38The sycamore gap.
25:39PHONE RINGS
25:40Oh, right, okay. So you're ringing with intelligence?
25:42PHONE RINGS
25:43PHONE RINGS
25:44The first few moments of the call, I recognised the voice to be that of Daniel Graham.
25:49PHONE RINGS
25:50Right, okay, what information do you want to pass over?
25:53PHONE RINGS
25:54So, one of the lads that I've done it, Adam Covers, has got the saws back in his possession.
26:01PHONE RINGS
26:02Right.
26:03PHONE RINGS
26:04There's also a part of the tree, and that was with the saws as well.
26:08PHONE RINGS
26:09So he's kept part of the tree?
26:10PHONE RINGS
26:11It's going to be the wedge of the tree, yeah.
26:15PHONE RINGS
26:16I obtained further telecommunications data that showed, at that point in time, Daniel Graham's
26:22mobile number was connected to the 101 system.
26:25PHONE RINGS
26:26All right.
26:27PHONE RINGS
26:28Thank you very much. Take care.
26:29PHONE RINGS
26:30Bye-bye.
26:31PHONE RINGS
26:32And terminated at exactly the same point in time that the call was terminated to Northumbria Police.
26:38PHONE RINGS
26:39So this friendship, if it hadn't already become a void, this was becoming a chasm.
26:49PHONE RINGS
26:50Are we going to have a trial where it becomes cutthroat?
26:55PHONE RINGS
26:56Two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree are due to go on trial later today.
27:04Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers deny causing criminal damage to...
27:08In my house, the Sycamore Gap case is known as that bloody tree case.
27:12PHONE RINGS
27:13My name is Richard Wright, King's Counsel, and I was the lead prosecutor in the Sycamore Gap case.
27:19PHONE RINGS
27:21In the last 12 years, almost all of my practices involved prosecuting or defending cases of murder,
27:28or very serious violent or organised crime.
27:31And so prosecuting a case of criminal damage to a tree was completely out of the ordinary.
27:38PHONE RINGS
27:43There was an army of journalists outside court.
27:45I don't think I was ready for the extent of that.
27:48PHONE RINGS
27:50I was being photographed walking in, and that's pretty unusual.
27:54PHONE RINGS
27:56PHONE RINGS
27:58In a case where there was this level of media interest, if you lose, everyone knows you've lost.
28:13Before the case came to trial, the two men had obviously fallen out.
28:17You could tell when we were in court that there was a real tension between them,
28:21and they absolutely detested each other.
28:23PHONE RINGS
28:25PHONE RINGS
28:30Dan Graham began by answering questions reasonably politely.
28:35He denied that he'd had anything at all to do with cutting down the tree.
28:42He took every opportunity he could to try and blame Adam Carruthers,
28:46so he revealed, for the first time ever, that Carruthers was obsessed with this tree,
28:51and that Carruthers had been out with a piece of string and measured the circumference of the tree,
28:56and that Carruthers kept this piece of string as a sort of trophy,
29:00and even going so far as to say that the next morning, Carruthers had rung him and admitted that he'd cut down the tree.
29:08He was asked about the phone call.
29:10It was Adam claiming he'd cut down the sycamore gap tree.
29:13I told him he was talking shit, I didn't believe it.
29:16I'm meant to say shit.
29:18I'm meant to say shit.
29:23Dan Graham was asked why he'd started to grass up Adam Carruthers to the police.
29:27It's my name all the time, my name before Adam's.
29:31And I started to have people phoning my business, giving me abuse about the tree.
29:35It was costing me money.
29:36I'm annoyed my business was suffering through his actions.
29:39Then I will fucking grass.
29:44And the more I pushed him, he resorted to becoming quite obstructive, belligerent.
29:50You're standing there calling me a liar.
29:54I've had enough of you calling me a liar.
29:56You're trying to wind us up.
29:58You're doing a good job.
30:06Carruthers was much less combative than Daniel Graham.
30:10He was quite quiet and softly spoken.
30:14There was an air of vulnerability about him almost.
30:17And so I decided I had to be careful not to make the jury feel sorry for him.
30:25Carruthers' alibi centered on the idea that he was at home with his partner
30:30and their young children at the time.
30:32But there were text messages between Carruthers and his partner
30:36that were particularly significant.
30:38on the day of the second arrests, I had seized the device belonging to the partner of Adam Carruthers.
30:54Analysis of that phone provided the conversation between the two of them.
30:59On the night the tree was felled, Adam's girlfriend asked him,
31:04Did you lock the gate?
31:15Carruthers' partner was talking about whether the gate was closed
31:18and that could only be interpreted as meaning he had left his home that night.
31:27After the cutting down, she'd sent him a video of his new baby feeding
31:32and he'd said, I've got a better video than that.
31:41I asked him why he'd said he'd got a better video than that
31:44and his answer was that this was a video he'd taken of his repairs to the roof
31:48in the outhouse.
31:49And he was trying to say that that was a good video better than his newborn child feeding
31:53was a video of a repair to a roof taken in the middle of a storm.
31:57It was a nonsense.
31:59But it seemed to me that it was the conversation the next day
32:02that was as clear an admission as you could have.
32:05I'd like to see Kevin launching an operation like we did last night.
32:09I'd like to see Kevin launching an operation like we did last night.
32:14We could all hear what was said.
32:16He was talking about the cutting down of the tree
32:18and he was saying, like we did.
32:23He was trying to say that it wasn't we, but it was he.
32:30You could hear that he was saying we.
32:32Like we did last night.
32:33Like we did last night.
32:34Like we did last night.
32:35We did last night.
32:36He was trying to ask the jury to accept that black was white.
32:39The jury at that point were almost laughing at him.
32:44Graham's car was placed in the area that night
32:46and that it was Graham's iPhone that was used to film.
32:50Things were coming out on TV at night time and you're like,
32:52oh, my God, I can't believe they're still pleading not guilty.
32:55Adam Carruthers and Daniel Gray.
32:56I've just been obsessed with it, to be honest.
32:58Absolutely obsessed with it.
32:59This wall was described by historical...
33:01Everybody wanted to know if there are the perpetrators.
33:04the perpetrators.
33:08This is for me still 50-50.
33:10I am not sure if it's going to be enough.
33:13No matter how strong the evidence,
33:21you can't assume that the jury see it the way you do.
33:24You've got to work on the basis that the jury still need convincing.
33:29We had a video taken on the telephone of Daniel Graham.
33:32I think it was very important that the jury saw that.
33:43The video that had been located on Daniel Graham's phone
33:47had been enhanced by the digital forensic unit.
33:51I will never forget seeing it because all of a sudden,
34:01you could see the outline of the sycamore gap tree.
34:04It showed that there was one person wielding a saw,
34:16and that there was a second person present holding the phone.
34:23When the sycamore tree falls,
34:25I still get goose pimples.
34:29It sends a shiver.
34:34In two minutes and 40 seconds,
34:46that person writes out 130 years of history.
35:04the video was played on big screens in court.
35:14Everybody was stunned into complete silence,
35:17transfixed by what they were watching.
35:34We all knew that the video was of the tree.
35:36There was no getting away from that.
35:38You could see the silhouette of it.
35:40Both of them denied that they were in the video.
35:43But the metadata put the phone at the scene on that night.
35:54During the trial, Carruthers said to the jury,
35:56he thought it was all a bit silly, really.
35:58I don't understand that it's just a tree.
36:00And I think at that point,
36:01you could almost feel the atmosphere in the courtroom change.
36:04I think the jury must have thought to themselves,
36:07exactly.
36:08And that's why you did it.
36:09Because you thought about it in that way,
36:11that it's just a tree.
36:15That was the greatest act of self-harm he could do to his own case.
36:19He didn't mean it to be a confession,
36:21but it was almost as if it was a confession.
36:25The jurors have been shown a video
36:27of the felling of the sycamore gap tree on...
36:29The tree can be seen to topple backwards
36:31and it crashes to the ground.
36:33What? Like, really?
36:35They were that stupid.
36:36They videoed themselves.
36:41Not deleted.
36:42It was just unbelievably stupid.
36:44IQ, nil.
36:49The noises.
36:50Like an abattoir.
36:51It's like watching an animal get put down.
36:53It is quite dramatic and upsetting.
36:58Yeah.
37:04It's really sickening.
37:06I hope to God that this will be their downfall.
37:12Do you still think it was just a tree?
37:14Oh, yeah.
37:16At the end of the trial,
37:18it had gone as well as a cross-examination can go.
37:21They both revealed themselves to be obviously lying.
37:26If everything goes as it should do
37:27and the jury system works properly,
37:30then the defendants will be convicted.
37:32In Newcastle, there's a saying that this is a Fenwick's window case.
37:42Fenwick's is a big store in the middle of the city.
37:45Think of the Harrods of the North East.
37:47Proposition is, if you lose this case,
37:49then you'll have to bear a certain part of your anatomy in Fenwick's window.
37:55My dear friends at the bar up and down England and Wales
37:58would never let me hear the end of it.
38:06When the jury walked out,
38:08there was a feeling that they would be back quite quickly.
38:16The first morning came and went,
38:18and then the second afternoon ticked by,
38:23and it got to sort of four o'clock and there was no word.
38:27I was beginning to despair.
38:32That evening, I was climbing the walls.
38:34I thought, what on earth can have gone wrong?
38:36I thought, what on earth can have gone wrong?
38:55Good morning. I'm Superintendent Kevin Waring from Northumbria Police.
38:58Today we have seen two men found guilty not only of damaging the tree,
39:07but also Hadrian's wall.
39:09Those responsible have been brought to justice.
39:13The Sycamore Gap was an iconic landmark.
39:17It's quite surreal.
39:18It's just a massive relief of pressure.
39:25I go home, I sit down and I enjoy a rather nice glass of red wine
39:31and just reflect on everything that we've done.
39:34It's been an emotional day.
39:37I actually had to go and start another murder case,
39:48so I was actually on my feet, opening to the jury.
39:51I got a note handed to me by my junior in Leeds,
39:54and the note just said,
39:56Newcastle, both guilty.
39:58The jury don't know that I'm waiting for a verdict in Sycamore Gap,
40:01so I had to just get on with it.
40:03It did take me a moment or two to find my place again, I have to say.
40:08Today, justice finally caught up with the men
40:10who chopped down at the Sycamore Gap tree.
40:13Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers
40:15drove 30 miles through a storm in September 2023
40:18and under the cover of...
40:20They've damaged the national landmark.
40:26I hope they get the book thrown at them, to be honest.
40:28What they did reflects who they are as people.
40:32Why? Just why? What on earth were you thinking?
40:35Over the moor and through the groan...
40:39I just thought they were a couple of brain-dead five-year-olds
40:43in grown men's bodies.
40:44I think it is today...
40:52How should the duo found guilty of cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree
40:56be punished? Dean in Suffolk?
40:5725 years. That's a good number, I think.
41:0035 years. Okay.
41:02You're saying community service for 20 years, are you, Rodney?
41:05They should be putting back into what they've taken out.
41:08They should be meant to plant 100,000 trees each.
41:11They'll be that sick of trees that never touch another
41:13the rest of their lives.
41:16Two men who cut down the Sycamore Gap tree
41:19are going to be sentenced today.
41:20What sort of punishment are they going to get?
41:23If it's too lenient, it will show the world,
41:26you know what, you can get away with this sort of stuff.
41:31The two men who caused outrage by felling,
41:34the famous Sycamore Gap tree have each been sentenced
41:37to over four years in jail.
41:39The judge said that while Daniel Graham...
41:40I was kind of expecting more, but then four years,
41:43it's still a long time.
41:45I wouldn't have been surprised if they got five or seven
41:47or eight years, but it's good they've got something.
41:50Yeah, definitely better than nothing.
41:52I'm confident that a major factor in your offending that night
41:56was sheer bravado.
41:58I'm glad that they haven't been let off.
42:00I'm glad it hasn't just been a slap on the wrist.
42:02But it doesn't bring any sort of closure for me.
42:05The tree's still not there, is it?
42:06The tree's still not there, is it?
42:10Has our judicial system gone absolutely stark raving mad?
42:14It's just a tree.
42:16It does not warrant taxpayers nine years in prison.
42:19It just doesn't.
42:21Literally, they're much fucking more fucking pressing things,
42:23more fucking things.
42:25The pedophiles walking the fucking streets.
42:27It seemed to me that if 50% of people think it was too long
42:30and 50% think it was too short, it's about right.
42:34The main question is why?
42:36Why have you done it?
42:37The truth is, after a two-week trial, we're still none the wiser.
42:41The only people who know why tonight are in prison.
42:52Throughout the trial, they both denied they were responsible.
42:58However, when speaking to their probation officers,
43:00they both admitted their guilt.
43:06So Graham said,
43:08all right, I was there, but I didn't know who was going to cut the tree down
43:11until the very second he stuck the chainsaw into it.
43:13I thought he was just joking.
43:15You know, very funny, carry a chainsaw for 20 minutes across a field
43:18in the middle of a storm.
43:19Adam Carruthers told his probation officer that he'd drunk at least a bottle of whiskey,
43:25and that everything that happened was a blur.
43:27I'm very much of the view that each of them might have pleaded guilty,
43:34but was worried that if they did, the other one might get away with it.
43:37They both wanted to see each other go down.
43:40But the actual motivation, who knows?
43:43I mean, one theory was that Carruthers had just had a child,
43:47and this might have been about going to get a trophy,
43:49the wedge of the tree, to celebrate the birth of his child.
43:52But in a sense, if that was his motivation,
43:55it reveals to you just how stupid they both were.
43:58It really was the moronic mission.
44:02There are new signs of life at the Sycamore Gap tree stump,
44:05where the iconic landmark once stood next to Hayes.
44:09The National Trust says it hopes they will form new trees
44:12around the original stump.
44:14Right, we need to try and all keep together in your partners, please.
44:18We don't mind the rain, do we, guys?
44:21There was a little ship
44:24that sailed on the sea
44:28The name of the ship was a marigold
44:33and tree
44:38Settled on the lawn
44:42In terms of Sycamore Gap as it stands, there's a new chapter, you know?
44:46The little saplings that are growing, it's beautiful to see.
44:50Settled on the lawn
44:53Hopefully the tree will regrow, but hope there is forgiveness.
44:57That's what I'm hoping for.
44:58Settled on his back
45:01The tree will be passed on from generation to generation
45:05It's now a local legend
45:07Settled on the marigoldern tree
45:10Settled on the lawn
45:15Settled on the lawn
45:16Just think, in decades to come, 20, 30 years,
45:32when you've got your own children,
45:34you might be able to come back here
45:35and the tree might be grown again
45:37and you might be able to sit underneath it
45:39and share the story of Sycamore Gap with your own families.
45:43Fowl to you, you merry golden tree
45:57I'm drowning in the low, in the low, in summer
46:05Support information for the issues raised
46:10can be found online at channel4.com forward slash support
46:15Sycamore Gap
46:20Please notice that your children feel as a voice
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