Son of Pink Floyd legend is arrested over 'insult to war dead' during London's student riots

The  pink floyd guitarist’s son seen swinging on the Union Flag at the Cenotaph was arrested yesterday on suspicion of criminal damage and violent disorder.
Charlie Gilmour, 21, who is the adopted son of musician David Gilmour, caused national outrage when he grabbed the Union flag during the riots last Thursday.
He was pictured clutching a rock for use as potential ammunition against the police and allegedly boasted of ‘taking so many batons’ during the violent clashes.

Arrested: Charlie Gilmour throws and catches a rock while wearing latex gloves during Thursdays's protests

The Cambridge University history student was also in the mob that surrounded Prince Charles and Camilla.
As these exclusive pictures show, Charlie Gilmour – the adopted son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, who is worth about £78 million – seemed prepared for violence as mayhem erupted during the protest over university tuition fees.

Anarchy UK: Gilmour was also photographed attempting to start a fire outside the Supreme Court. Police arrived to put out the flames

The 21-year-old grabbed the stone from roadworks in Whitehall. With a scarf wrapped around his face in an unsuccessful attempt to hide his identity, the long-haired Cambridge history student tossed and caught the missile menacingly with his right hand as police struggled to defend the Palace of Westminster from the mob.

 In another possible sign of sinister intent, he wore latex gloves during the demonstration.
There was speculation last night that he might have been trying to avoid leaving incriminating fingerprints.

Disrespectful: Gilmour swinging from the Union flag at the Cenotaph

Another theory was that the gloves were there to ensure no paint got on his hands.
Unlike impoverished students campaigning peacefully against the fees rise, Gilmour is unlikely to face money troubles since his adoptive father is estimated to be worth £78million. Yesterday Mr Gilmour said he had ‘no comment’ about the behaviour of his son.
Mr Gilmour attended £9,000-a-term Lancing College in West Sussex.
He was adopted by the Pink Floyd star after the protester’s mother, author and journalist Polly Samson, separated from his father, the poet Heathcote Williams.
On Friday his mother posted a message on her Twitter account saying: ‘I am as ashamed of him as he is of himself.’
Miss Samson married David Gilmour in 1994 and they have homes in London and Hove in Sussex. The musician is estimated to be worth £78 million, ranking 861st on The Sunday Times Rich List.
Charlie Gilmour has admitted being close to the car carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall when it was ambushed by paint-throwing demonstrators in Regent Street.
At 8.10pm, less than an hour after the attack on the Royal limousine, he was filmed by the BBC outside Topshop in Oxford Street, half-hiding a woman’s lace-up boot under his coat.
The shoe looks suspiciously similar to boots sold for £85 a pair in the store.
The boot was attached to some sort of pole, possibly a limb from a shop-window mannequin.

Flying the red flag: Gilmour is surrounded by police as he waves a banner in Parliament Square

Privilege: A 14-year-old Gilmour (right) with his mother, journalist Polly Samson, sister Alice and father David after the Pink Floyd guitarist was awarded with a CBE by the Queen in 2003

A few minutes earlier there had been reports of the West End store being ransacked by protesters.
Yesterday he was arrested at his home in Billingshurst, Sussex, on suspicion of criminal damage and violent disorder. He was taken to a police station where he was also arrested on suspicion of theft.
Last night he remained in custody.
On Friday, Mr Gilmour apologised for his behaviour at the Cenotaph, describing it as an isolated ‘moment of idiocy’.

But last night his actions throughout the day of protest came under closer scrutiny as the extent of his involvement became clear.
He first came to the attention of a Mail on Sunday reporter covering the demonstration when he was seen carrying a book of poetry in Parliament Square.
He gave his name as Rafael Lefevre but when we spoke to him the following day he admitted this was a pseudonym he used ‘when dealing with the Press’.
Accompanied by a friend called Ruthven, he joined the main demonstration in Parliament Square.
Holding a red and black flag in one hand and the volume of verse in the other, he clambered on to the reinforced barrier protecting Parliament and began reciting Byron and Keats to the riot police lined up on the other side.
A female officer shouted to him: ‘Get down or you will be arrested.’ However, he disappeared from view as violence erupted.
Asked the following day if he was the man filmed by the BBC shortly after the Royal car was attacked, Mr Gilmour said: ‘Yes, I was close by. It was getting really heavy and that’s when I thought, “I’ve got to go.” ’
Referring to the Cenotaph incident, he said: ‘I’ve got myself in a terrible scandal. I’m absolutely devastated by what I’ve done.
‘I saw this flag hanging up there. It was a great big flag. It turned out that it was hanging on a very sacred monument.
‘I was rightly told off by the other protesters. I am extremely respectful of the soldiers who gave their lives. I was just caught up in the excitement of the moment.’
When told he had been seen with the boot and pole, he said: ‘Oh s***, I’ve got to go. There’s someone at the door.’
Friends have claimed he may have taken the hallucinatory drug LSD during the protest.
There is a moving reference to the Cenotaph in the Pink Floyd song Southampton Dock, and David Gilmour’s former bandmate Roger Waters lost his father in the Second World War and has written extensively about his loss throughout his career. 
This is the 35th arrest over Thursday's protests. Police have released photos of 14 other people they want to question.

Running riot: Thousands of students clashed with riot police as they demonstrated outside Parliament over the government's decision to increase university fees

London's burning: Police have so far made 35 arrests since the protests on Thursday