Sycamore Gap accused claims he was ‘framed on Facebook’ for felling iconic tree

Daniel Graham claimed he had been ‘framed’ for allegedly cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree after said he was named on social media during a police interview after the incident

One of the men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree claimed he had been ‘framed’ for it after being named on Facebook, a court heard today.

Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both deny criminal damage worth £622,191 to the tree and damage to Hadrian’s Wall and are on trial at Newcastle crown court. In his first interview with police in October 2023, Graham told officers that he and Carruthers had been named on Facebook as the men who chopped down the tree and it had ‘f***ed his business’ even though it had ‘nothing to do’ with him. Graham, a groundworker, told police that both he and his co-accused Carruthers had been falsely accused of cutting down the tree in Facebook posts.

His answers were read out in court by the senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Sergeant Calum Meikle of Northumbria Police. When asked if he was aware of the felling, Graham told officers: “I know about it as much as every body else does. It has been all over the national news so I am aware of it.”

Asked what he was doing on the night it was felled, he added: “I have not got a clue what I was doing to be honest with you. It is nowt to do with me.”

He said that his business was being impacted by the allegations being made on social media. He told police: “My business has gone because of this. It has f***ed my life coming in here today. No doubt you will put my name in the press. I am going to have to deal with this myself, it is torture being named on the internet. There is nothing on my premises, no chainsaw that has been anywhere near this.”

Graham was first arrested at his home at Millbeck Stables, Carlisle, on October 31 2023. His home was searched and two chainsaws were seized from a work shed, as well as a mobile phone inside a jacket pocket hanging in the caravan.

The court heard Carruthers was first arrested on suspicion of criminal damage on the same day in a caravan at The Old Fuel Depot at Kirkbride Airfield, Wigton, Cumbria. In his first interview with police, Graham said he allowed other people to use his Range Rover.

His business had 11 vehicles, including wagons, tippers and dumpers, and others could drive them. He said: “I couldn’t give a sh**e who uses the Range Rover, it’s there to use, that’s all it’s there for.”

Graham later added: “Adam takes it whenever he needs it like. A good pal, Adam.” The jury has been told the defendants now appeared to blame each other and their once-close friendship has “unravelled”.

Asked by police if Carruthers had ever worked for him, Graham said: “He does tree work with us. All Adam does is tree work.” Asked whether Carruthers was an experienced tree surgeon, Graham replied: “I wouldn’t say tree surgeon. He’s keen. You can put him up a tree with ropes and not worry he’s going to come down.”

Graham told police he was self-employed and he sometimes cut down trees as part of the business. Asked if any of the chainsaws he owned could be linked to cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree, Graham told police: “They wouldn’t be big enough.”

Asked how he would cut down that tree, he replied: “I have never done a large fell, I haven’t been trained for that.” When he was asked how he would fell a tree from the bottom, he said he would cut a wedge from one side, cut in from the other side and would be aware of which way it was going to fall.

In the same interview, Graham told police: “I know who’s done it and I’m going to get my own back,” but then said he meant he knew who had accused him. He said: “It’s nowt to do with me… I know who’s put my name forwards. I know who’s made the allegation … I know who’s done this to me.”

Jurors heard police searched a home in Wigton linked to Carruthers, hoping to find a missing chainsaw and wedge cut from the tree. Rebecca Brown, junior counsel for the prosecution, said the house was “extremely cluttered with access to most rooms difficult because of this” and there was no sign of any chainsaws or the wedge.

In a second interview with police, on November 3, 2023, Graham said: “I have no reason on this planet to go and fell that f***ing tree. This is a shock but not a surprise. One thousand percent, I am not stood by the tree with that chainsaw. I see how it looks, the footage on my mobile phone and the fact it is my vehicle.

“But I am not going to name names. I don’t know if I am being framed, I think this is genuine stupidity. I know it is a serious charge. Other people have kids and I am not going to ruin their lives.”

In his first police interview, Carruthers also denied cutting down the tree, and said he was busy at home with his newborn daughter. Asked what he was doing on the night the tree was felled, he added: “I don’t know what I was doing last week.”

Graham, of Millbeck, Grinsdale, near Carlisle, and Carruthers, of Church St, Wigton, both Cumbria, deny criminal damage to the tree to the value of £622,191 and £1,144 in damage to Hadrian’s Wall, caused as the tree fell. Both belong to the National Trust.

The trial at Newcastle crown court continues.