Tate Modern fall: Teenager Jonty Bravery pleads guilty to attempted murder of six-year-old boy

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A teenager who threw a six-year-old boy from a tenth floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern in order to get on the TV news has today pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

Jonty Bravery, 18, picked up the youngster when he was just a few metres from his mother and threw him over the railings of the famous tourist attraction.

The French boy suffered brain injuries, broken arms and legs, and a fractured spine when he landed on a fifth floor roof at the gallery.

He has now regained some movement in his legs after months in intensive care , as the public donated more than £120,000 to aid his recovery.

At the Old Bailey this afternoon, Bravery appeared via videolink from the secure Broadmoor Hospital to plead guilty to a charge of attempted murder.

Emergency crews at the scene of the incident in August
PA

The court heard the teenager is on the autistic spectrum, has a possible personality disorder and OCD, and he has been undergoing psychiatric assessments since his arrest for the August 4 attack.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Bravery had planned to carry out the attack “so he could be on the news”, hailing the young victim’s survival as “extraordinary”.

"This devastating and shocking incident at the Tate Modern changed the lives of Bravery’s young victim and his family forever”, said CPS prosecutor Emma Jones.

"The boy was singled out by Bravery who threw him from the viewing platform intending to kill him. That he survived the five storey fall was extraordinary.

“Eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage, along with Bravery’s admissions at the time of the arrest that his actions were pre-planned, meant he had little choice but to accept responsibility for his actions.”

A court artist sketch of Jonty Bravery appearing at the Old Bailey in London
PA/ Elizabeth Cook

The court heard Bravery walked over to the boy and picked him up before throwing him in a “swift motion” over the side, in front of shocked tourists and the youngster’s traumatised parents.

Bravery was then detained by members of the public and arrested.

The family had been enjoying the view from the balcony along with crowds of other tourists when the boy walked just a few feet away from his parents.

Bravery, who turned 18 a couple of months after the attack when he could be named for the first time , admitted responsibility for the incident straight away, and told police he wanted people to know what he had done.

“He had asked a police officer afterwards if he was going to be on the news”, Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC told a hearing in September.

“When interviewed, he accepted he had said that. He said he wanted everyone to see that everyone had made a mistake by not putting him into hospital.

“He said ‘I want to be on the news, I want people to see who I am and why I did it’.”

Bravery also put himself in peril behind bars by telling fellow inmates what he had done, despite a court order preventing him from being identified.

At court today, Bravery sported a beard and unkempt hair as he spoke only to identify himself and enter his guilty plea.

He could be seen closing his eyes at various stages during the hearing. He could also be seen speaking under his breath at various times.

Bravery nodded repeatedly when the judge told the press there was a reporting restriction in place banning the identity of the victim being published.

Mr Justice Edis adjourned the case until a sentencing hearing on 17 February next year.

In a statement last month, the family of the injured boy shared news of progress by their “little knight” , saying: “We can now bring him outside in a wheelchair to breath fresh air.

"It's tiring for him but he really likes it, of course. He's very smiling and he laughs a lot again. He begins to move his legs since a few days, just a tiny little bit but it is really wonderful to see...!

"And just since today, he manages to make real kisses. It warms our hearts so much... Thank you all of you. We hope we will give you other good news as soon as possible."

Bravery, from west London, was remanded in custody until sentencing, and for him to undergo further psychiatric assessment.

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