Guernsey artist's wife arrested after Attenborough incident

Monday 21 November 2022

The wife of a Guernseyman has been arrested after confronting Sir David Attenborough as he dined at a restaurant after filming a tv documentary about fishing in Weymouth.

Two people were arrested following that incident. One has been confirmed as Emma Smart - wife of Guernseyman Andrew Smith. The identity of the second person arrested is not yet known.

Mr Smith is an artist who launched the Centrefold Gallery, the Readerswives' Collective, and other creative initiatives while he lived here. He worked as an Arts Development Officer for the States before he and Ms Smart left the island to drive around the world. 

That journey started in 2012 and was documented on their blog site. In 2020 they used their blog to address criticism of the carbon footprint caused by their four year trip circumnavigating the world in a diesel Toyota Hilux Surf vehicle.

Pictured: Guernseyman Andrew Smith and his wife, Emma Smart, who previously made national news headlines when she was imprisoned for her role in climate change protests.

A year ago, Ms Smart was jailed for her involvement in climate change protests in London. She was one of nine people jailed after repeatedly blocking roads. 

Mr Smith used a Crowdfunding campaign to raise money for his wife's legal fees then and encouraged people to write to her while she was behind bars.

The road blocking campaign was carried out by the group Insulate Britain which wants to see all homes in the UK insulated within a decade.

The incident involving Sir David Attenborough was said to be carried out by the group Animal Rebellion. That group is said to be campaigning for "a plant-based food system and the creation of a mass-rewilding programme". It is also said to support for farmers and fishing communities in transitioning to a low-carbon world.

Sir David was dining at the Catch at the Old Fish Market in Weymouth on Friday night when Ms Smart approached him.

She was asked to leave the restaurant, and the police were called and she was arrested for causing a disturbance when she did not initially leave.

Animal Rebellion shared video footage of the incident HERE.

Pictured: The Daily Mail reported that Ms Smart had given Sir David a letter. It also referenced her now controversial round the world trip with her husband.

In statements shared by Animal Rebellion on its website, both Ms Smart and Mr Smith raised concerns about rising sea levels.

“The Catch is a symbol of excess and inequality in today’s world, Weymouth has average wages amongst the lowest in The UK and is at huge risk of sea level rises. Yet this restaurant still continues business as usual amongst the worst cost-of-living crisis many will ever experience.

"We don’t need another documentary series showing us that we are losing, some 150 species going extinct globally every single day. What we need is action. Sir David is in a unique position to tell the truth about the biodiversity crisis. He has the chance to leave a legacy of love, care, and of being the forerunner of a better world.” 

The website also shared a statement, attributed to Andy Smart, Emma’s husband:

“Most of Weymouth will be uninsurable in the coming years due to flood risk. Ordinary people here can’t just uproot their entire lives, yet businesses like The Catch are continuing to profit from the destruction of our oceans and simply driving the divide between the 1% and the 99%.

"The cost-of-living and climate crises are woven together, and a key solution to both is the same. We need huge political change to support farmers and fishing communities in the transition to a plant-based food system. This would produce an abundance of healthy, cheap, reliable food whilst also drawing down massive amounts of carbon.”

Pictured top: Ms Smart being arrested in an image from the Animal Rebellion website. Sir David Attenborough in an image from Wikipedia.