Eight activists have been charged after crumble and custard were thrown at the Crown Jewels and manure was dumped in The Ritz.

Police say the suspects are members of Take Back Power, a new protest group whose mantra is 'tax the rich to fix Britain', and all are due to appear in court over the next two weeks.

Four people face proceedings over the incident at The Ritz, four over the incident at the Tower of London, and a ninth over an alleged episode of organised shoplifting.

Ellen Redwood-Brown, 23, Tom Barber, 66, Toby Ellwood, 21, and Tjalle Rumley, 26, have all been charged with criminal damage over a foul stunt at the five-star hotel in Piccadilly on December 3 last year.

Activists emptied bags of manure beneath the Christmas tree in the lobby, leaving a mound of stinking brown matter on the luxury carpet as security guards rushed to intervene.

They also sat outside the hotel and unfurled flags that read 'Inequality is sh**, tax the rich.'

Redwood-Brown, an NHS worker, and Barber, a former doctor, identified themselves as participants at the time, with the former saying: 'The billionaires, corporations, and corrupt politicians running Britain don't care about us.'

Barber said: 'Power is concentrated in the hands of a small group of obscenely wealthy and ruthless individuals.

'They are hell-bent on enriching themselves, forcing the gap between the haves and the have-nots ever wider.' 

Redwood-Brown and Barber will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, while Ellwood and Rumley will appear at the same court on April 29.

Three days after the Ritz stunt, on December 6, four people were arrested after activists smothered apple crumble and custard over a glass case housing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.

Fatima Ali, 19, Miriam Cranch, 22, Mack Preston, 22, Matthew Cooper, 50, have all been charged with criminal damage over the second demonstration. They will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on April 27.

This time, the activists revealed a sign reading: 'Democracy has crumbled - tax the rich.'

Footage shared by the group showed one demonstrator removing the large foil tray of crumble from a bag and then slamming it against the glass protecting the Imperial State Crown.

Another then sloshed a tub of bright yellow custard onto the front of the case.

The demonstrators then opened their coats to show t-shirts emblazoned with 'Take Back Power'.

One shouted: 'Britain is broken. We've come here to the jewels of the nation to take back power. Join us at takebackpower.net.'

The glass case targeted contains the Imperial State Crown, which is worn by the monarch at the end of the coronation ceremony and at formal occasions like the State Opening of Parliament.

It was worn by King Charles at his coronation in 2023, and was seen atop of Queen Elizabeth II's coffin during her lying-in-state period and subsequent state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

The ninth suspect, David Kilroy, 66, has been charged with theft following an alleged incident of organised shoplifting at Sainsbury's in Lewisham on March 14 this year.

He will appear at Bexley Magistrates’ Court on April 29. 

After the commotion in The Ritz, a Take Back Power spokesperson said: 'The super-rich have more than doubled their wealth since the pandemic, while this Christmas, a third of UK children suffer and grow up in poverty.

'It's time ordinary people - those most affected by inequality, get a say in deciding how to tax wealth through the means of a legally binding citizen's assembly - a House of the People.'

Following the dessert sting in the Tower of London, the group said: 'Since 2011, the poorest 10 per cent of households have paid a combined tax rate of 44 per cent on their income and wealth gains, while the richest paid 22 per cent.

'Our political class, be it this government, Reform or Tory, serve the super-rich; they do not care about working people.

'That's why we must demand real democracy, with ordinary people at the heart of decision making, through a citizen-led assembly that has the power to tax the rich.'