Two men accused of chopping down the famous Sycamore Gap tree should be found guilty on the trail of evidence against them, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court was told.
In his closing argument in the trial of Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the former friends had committed the “arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery,” thinking it would be “a bit of a laugh”.
But Mr Wright said they had failed to foresee the public outrage the felling of the famous tree would bring.
“They woke up the morning after and soon realised — as the news media rolled in, as the outrage of the public became clear … it must have dawned on them that they couldn’t see anyone else smiling,” Mr Wright said.
“Far from being the big men they thought they were, everyone else thought that they were rather pathetic.”
Mr Wright mocked the defence of the pair, saying common sense should lead to their conviction for criminal damage to the tree and Hadrian’s Wall, which the sycamore stuck when it came down on the night of 27 September, 2023.
Carruthers, 32, of Wigton in Cumbria, and Graham, 39, of Carlisle, deny having any involvement in the cutting down of the tree. Both claim to have been at home during the time of the offence.
Key points
- Jury sent out to consider verdict
- Prosecutor berates defendants in closing speech
- Pair chopped down Sycamore Gap tree for a 'laugh', jury told
- Both men accused committed 'arboreal equivalent of thuggery’
- Judge tells jury to consider Sycamore Gap case 'calmly'
Jury sent out to consider verdict
12:15At Newcastle Crown Court, the jury in the trial of Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers has just been sent out to consider its verdict.
The pair are accused of cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland.
The judge, Mrs Justice Lambert, told jurors they were under no pressure of time as they consider their verdicts.
She told them: "It takes as long as it takes."
The judge added: "The only verdict which I can accept from you is a unanimous verdict for both defendants, on both counts."
Prosecutor mocks defence evidence
10:50 , Alex RossDaniel Graham and Adam Carruthers have said they had nothing to do with the chopping down of the Sycamore Gap tree.
Both defendants said they were at home at the time the offence was committed on 27 September, 2023.
The jury has been told that Graham’s Range Rover had been traced to the Sycamore Gap area on the night of the incident.
Prosecutors also showed a video from Graham’s phone, which they suggested showed the tree coming down.
Metadata showed it was taken at the tree's location in Northumberland National Park on the night it was felled.
Graham claims that someone took his Range Rover, and it was not unusual for him to leave his phone in the vehicle.
Mr Wright told the jury on Wednesday that he couldn't say who cut the tree and who held the phone, but the two were the only people in the world who had the video on their devices.
“What a coincidence,” Mr Wright said.
Suspects were 'in it together from first to last', prosecutor tells jury
10:13Much of the case has been made about the friendship of Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham.
Graham described the pair as the “best of pals”, however his legal representative Chris Knox told the jury yesterday that the friends fell out “spectacularly”.
Graham has accused Carruthers of chopping down the tree, telling the jury his friend called him up the morning after the felling to confess.
Andrew Gurney, defending Carruthers, said Graham had “named Adam Carruthers because he needs a scapegoat”.
Both deny any involvement in the incident.
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC told the jury: “The odd couple. Two men who did everything together and who, you can be sure, were together this night as well.
“A team who were in it together from first to last. One to operate the saw and the other to film it. But both equally responsible.”
'From Felixstowe to Falkirk' - prosecutor explains reaction to tree felling
09:16 , Alex RossAs part of his closing speech, prosecutor Richard Wright KC described the outrage to the chopping down of the Sycamore Gap tree.
The tree had stood in a sloping gap of Hadrian’s Wall for more than 100 years, and was one of the most photographed in the UK.
Mr Wright KC said: “From Felixstowe to Falkirk, from Bishop Auckland to Barnstable, up and down the country and across the world, the reaction of all right thinking people to the senseless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree has been one of sadness and anger.
“Who would do such a thing? Why would anyone do such a thing? Take something beautiful and destroy it for no good reason.
“Go to the trouble of causing irreparable and senseless damage to an adornment to the rural landscape of Northumberland, and in the process damage the ancient structure of Hadrian’s wall.
“The public indignation, anger and downright disgust has been palpable hasn’t it?”
Prosecutor berates defendants in closing speech
09:11 , Alex RossYesterday, we heard from prosecutor Richard Wright KC, who in his closing speech criticised both suspects, accused of chopping down the Sycamore Gap tree.
Ground worker Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers are alleged to have driven overnight from Carlisle to Sycamore Gap during Storm Agnes in September 2023.
There, Mr Wright said, they committed the “arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery”.
He said their plan to do it for ‘a bit of a laugh’ backfired when they saw the public response in the days that followed.
Mr Wright said: “Because for all that they must have thought that this was going to be a bit of a laugh, they woke up the morning after and soon realised – as the news media rolled in, as the outrage of the public became clear… it must have dawned on them that they couldn’t see anyone else smiling in there.
“And that far from being the big men they thought they were, everyone else thought that they were rather pathetic.
“Owning up to this arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery would make them public enemy number one. And neither of them has got the courage to do that.”
Day 7 of trial: What to expect today
09:02 , Alex RossThe trial of Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, both accused of criminal damage to the Sycamore Gap tree and Hadrian’s Wall, resumes this morning at 10am.
The jury has now heard all the evidence in the case, and yesterday listened to closing speeches by the prosecution and the legal representatives of both defendants.
Now we expect to hear from the judge, who will sum up the case before the jury is sent out to consider its verdict.
Trial adjourned for the day
Wednesday 7 May 2025 17:15With all closing speeches given, Mrs Justice Lambert has now adjourned the case until 10am tomorrow.
At tomorrow’s hearing she will sum up the facts before the jury retires to consider its verdict.
Here’s our report on today’s evidence:
Sycamore Gap suspects ‘feared becoming public enemy number one’
Suspect's behaviour in court questioned
Wednesday 7 May 2025 17:14 , Alex RossChris Knox, for suspect Daniel Graham, says his client was accused of being “stroppy” when answering the prosecution’s questions.
“Does that make him the Sycamore Gap tree murderer?” Mr Knox asked the jury.
“Or does it mean exactly what he said in his interviews with the police – he has been dropped in this?”
Suspect made co-accused a 'scapegoat'
Wednesday 7 May 2025 17:14 , Alex RossAndrew Gurney, defending Carruthers, says Daniel Graham had “named Adam Carruthers because he needs a scapegoat”.
He says Carruthers was in the dock “not because he was found at the scene…but because of Daniel Graham’s mobile phone and the words of one man – Daniel Graham, who having found himself in the dock, has reached desperately for a lifeline and tried to throw Adam Carruthers under the bus to save his own skin”.
Mr Gurney says: “Adam Carruthers was not creeping about a national park in the dead of night. He was at home with his partner.”
He adds that “it makes no sense that, during this period of his life, he would be doing that,” reminding jurors that Carruthers’s newborn daughter had returned home from hospital just five days earlier.
The friends had fallen out 'spectacularly', jury told
Wednesday 7 May 2025 17:01 , Alex RossAs we’ve heard already, Daniel Graham claimed he was at his home the night the Sycamore Gap tree was felled.
He accepted that his Range Rover was driven to the car park nearest to Sycamore Gap and his phone was used to film the tree being felled.
But he said his co-accused, Adam Carruthers, took both.
In his closing speech, Chris Knox, for Graham, said the defendants had fallen out “spectacularly”.
They had been described as close friends earlier in the trial, with the pair bonding during work to fix a Land Rover owned by Graham’s later father.
Suspects were 'in it together from the first to last', jury told
Wednesday 7 May 2025 16:00 , Alex RossFinishing his closing speech, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were “in it together from first to last”.
“The odd couple. Two men who did everything together and who, you can be sure, were together this night as well,” he tells jurors.
“A team who were in it together from first to last. One to operate the saw and the other to film it. But both equally responsible.”
Mr Wright tells the court that a video said to be of the moment the tree was cut down, which was found on Graham’s phone and had been sent to Carruthers, would have been “gold dust” if it had been released.
He says: “And there are only two people in the world who ever had that video on their telephones. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers.”
Pair chopped down Sycamore Gap tree for a 'laugh', jury told
Wednesday 7 May 2025 15:40The prosecutor Richard Wright KC suggests Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers chopped down the tree, for what they thought, “was going to be a bit of a laugh”.
He adds: “They woke up the morning after and soon realised – as the news media rolled in, as the outrage of the public became clear… it must have dawned on them that they couldn’t see anyone else smiling in there.
“And that far from being the big men they thought they were, everyone else thought that they were rather pathetic.
“Owning up to this arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery would make them public enemy number one. And neither of them has got the courage to do that.”
The public anger was a shock for one suspect, jury told
Wednesday 7 May 2025 15:20 , Alex RossProsecutor Richard Wright KC turns to suspect Adam Carruthers’ defence yesterday, when asked about the rolling news coverage the day after the Sycamore Gap tree came down.
Mr Wright reminds jurors that Carruthers had said during his evidence that it was “just a tree” and the reaction was “as if somebody had been murdered”.
“And perhaps that sentiment, that lack of appreciation, actually explains a great deal about these two defendants and about why… neither of them is willing to own up to what they have done,” Mr Wright said.
Both men accused committed 'arboreal equivalent of thuggery’
Wednesday 7 May 2025 14:55 , Alex RossWe’re now hearing from the prosecutor Richard Wright KC, who is summing up his case to the jury at Newcastle Crown Court.
He says Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers realised they “weren’t the big men they thought they were” when they saw the public outrage over the felling of the much-loved Northumberland landmark.
Mr Wright says: “From Felixstowe to Falkirk, from Bishop Auckland to Barnstable, up and down the country and across the world, the reaction of all right thinking people to the senseless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree has been one of sadness and anger.
“Who would do such a thing? Why would anyone do such a thing? Take something beautiful and destroy it for no good reason.
“Go to the trouble of causing irreparable and senseless damage to an adornment to the rural landscape of Northumberland, and in the process damage the ancient structure of Hadrian’s wall. Then take away a souvenir of your moronic mission.
“The public indignation, anger and downright disgust has been palpable hasn’t it?
Judge tells jury to consider Sycamore Gap case 'calmly'
Wednesday 7 May 2025 13:54This morning, Mrs Justice Lambert has been setting out her legal directions to the jury in the trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Daniel Graham, 39, and mechanic Adam Carruthers, 32, both deny two counts each of criminal damage to the tree and the Roman wall, which was damaged when the sycamore crashed down.
They are accused of driving around for 40 minutes from the Carlisle area, during Storm Agnes, to fell the sycamore beside Hadrian’s Wall in September 2023.
Mrs Justice Lambert told the jury: “It is vitally important that during your deliberations, you consider the evidence calmly and dispassionately.
“You may feel yourself reacting emotionally to some of the evidence and feel sympathy for one side or the other.
“It is your duty, however, to put these emotions to one side and judge the case solely on the evidence.”
Trial set to resume shortly
Wednesday 7 May 2025 11:30 , Alex RossDaniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, are both charged with two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to Hadrian’s Wall, which was damaged when the tree fell on it.
The trial was adjourned yesterday after a fifth day of evidence.
We are set to get back underway at 11.30am.
Co-accused gives his version of why friends fell out
Wednesday 7 May 2025 11:00 , Alex RossAs we’ve been posting from Adam Carruthers’ evidence to the court yesterday, he said his friendship with Daniel Graham came to an end with Graham accusing him of “grassing him up”.
Earlier yesterday, Graham gave his own version on why the pair fell out.
The defendant said the change came after he had to take his name off the vehicles he used for his business.
Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, asked why he made an anonymous tip-off to the police about Carruthers having told detectives he was not a “grass”.
Graham replied: “It was costing me money, affecting my business, then I will f****** grass.”
Asked if he was annoyed that Carruthers would not own up to what he had done, Graham told the court: “I am annoyed my business was suffering through his actions.
“That’s what I am annoyed about.”
Voicenote on tree felling to co-accused 'interpreted wrong', says defendant
Wednesday 7 May 2025 10:40 , Alex RossEarlier in the trial, the prosecution produced evidence of a voicenote sent from Carruthers to Graham, referring to “an operation like we did last night”, after the tree was chopped down.
Carruthers, who said he could not understand how the tree felling could get such wide media attention, said on the voicenote: “I think it’s been interpreted wrong, it should be ‘launch an operation like what he did last night’.
“I’m referring to the person who done the job.
“It might sound as if I’m being sexist saying it’s a man, but I wouldn’t have thought it would have been a woman who done it.”
Carruthers said he “had no idea” who was responsible.
'I was not going to take the blame for this', defendant tells court
Wednesday 7 May 2025 10:07 , Alex RossEarlier in the day on Tuesday, Daniel Graham was asked about his claim that Adam Carruthers and another man asked him to take the blame for cutting the tree down.
He said the plan was a “load of shite” and said they did not discuss how it would work because “it’s not f****** happening”.
He added: “I was not going to take the blame for something I didn’t do.”
Graham claims that Carruthers confessed to chopping down the tree the day after it came down. Carruthers claims he had nothing to do with it.
Defendant asked why he was messaging partner on night of tree felling
Wednesday 7 May 2025 10:00 , Alex RossAdam Carruthers told the jury he was at home on the night of the Sycamore Gap tree being felled, on 27 September, 2023.
Giving evidence yesterday, he was asked by his barrister, Andrew Gurney, why he had been messaging his partner if he was at home. He said she had been in her bedroom with their newborn baby.
“To save walking in and have a conversation, waking the baby up, it was easier to send her a text message – it was quiet,” Carruthers said.
He was asked about a message he sent to his partner that night saying he had a “better video” after she sent him a video of their baby being bottle fed.
He said he had made a video of the roof of their washing shed being damaged in the storm, and was referring to that.
Defendant says he was at home the night the tree was felled
Wednesday 7 May 2025 09:39 , Alex RossAs we’ve heard from the prosecution, both Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham are accused of driving from Cumbria to the Sycamore Gap tree, where one is said to have cut down the tree, while the other filmed it.
Both deny the accusations.
Yesterday, Carruthers was asked where he was on the night the Sycamore Gap tree came down, on the night of 27 September, 2023.
The 32-year-old said that during the month he was staying with his partner of 10 years in Kirkbride, Cumbria, because she had just given birth to their daughter by Caesarean section and needed help looking after their two children.
He told jurors he was at home with his partner on the night the tree was felled.
Defendant tells jury how pair's close friendship ended
Wednesday 7 May 2025 09:13 , Alex RossAs we’ve reported previously, suspect Daniel Graham told the court that his friendship with the co-accused Adam Carruthers tightened while the pair fixed his late father’s jeep.
Carruthers told the jury that he had worked with Graham on projects, including to “tarmac a drive” and “trim some trees”.
But following the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree, Carruthers told the jury their friendship ended when Graham turned up at his workplace, accusing him of “grassing him up”.
Andrew Gurney, defending, asked if Carruthers had “grassed him up” and the defendant said he had not.
Why is the Sycamore Gap tree so famous?
Wednesday 7 May 2025 09:07 , Alex RossSituated in a sloping gap of the Hadrian’s Wall, near the village of Once Brewed, the Sycamore Gap tree became one of the most famous places in England over the past few decades.
The tree, planted 150 years ago, has always been an icon for people in the region, with many having used the site to mark birthdays, do marriage proposals and scatter ashes.
But it was in 1991 when the Sycamore Gap achieved worldwide fame, appearing in the Hollywood film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves which starred Kevin Costner. As tourists from as far away as the US flocked to see the tree, locals started calling it the “Kevin Costner tree”.
The tree’s fame was further helped thanks to the advent of social media, with photographs of the solitary tree beamed around the world on people’s phones and computers.
Defendant couldn't understand the outcry over the tree's destruction
Wednesday 7 May 2025 09:05 , Alex RossYesterday, while giving evidence in fifth day of the trial, defendant Adam Carruthers said he could not understand the huge outcry after it was felled, telling a court it was “just a tree”.
He is accused of chopping down the tree along with his co-accused Daniel Graham. Both deny the charge.
When asked in court why he had showed so much interest in the story of the tree being chopped down, he said: “On the morning I woke up I had looked online and it was all over Facebook. I was thinking ‘What’s going on here?’. It was everywhere.
“My understanding was it was just a tree, I couldn’t understand why everyone was sharing it, every second post, it was about this tree. I just couldn’t get my head round it.
“The way it was travelling through the news, I was amazed how something so small could create so much publicity.”
Earlier in the trial, the prosecution claimed both defendants were “revelling” in the media coverage of the tree being chopped down.
Day 6 of Sycamore Gap trial - what to expect today
Wednesday 7 May 2025 09:01 , Alex RossGround worker Daniel Graham, 39, and mechanic Adam Carruthers, 32, are both charged with two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to Hadrian’s Wall, which was damaged when the tree fell on it.
So far, the jury at Newcastle Crown Court has heard evidence put forward by the prosecution, as well as from both defendants who took the witness stand.
Today, we’re expecting closing speeches to start from the prosecution and the defendants’ representatives, before the jury is sent out to consider its verdict in the case.
