Two men found guilty over theft of golden toilet valued at £4.8m

Two men have been found guilty over the theft of a £4.8m gold toilet from the Oxfordshire country house where Winston Churchill was born.

- Ben Quinn

The 18-carat gold lavatory was stolen from Blenheim Palace in September 2019 while it was featuring in an art exhibition and is believed to have been split up and disposed of.

Michael Jones, from Oxford, was convicted yesterday of planning the burglary, which took place in the early morning. He had visited the palace twice before the theft but denied these were reconnaissance trips.

He previously told jurors at Oxford crown court he "took advantage of" the gold toilet's facilities while at the country house the day before it was stolen. Asked what it was like, he replied: "Splendid."

The court heard Jones had worked as a roofer, builder and "right-hand man" for James Sheen, 40, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, who had pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and one count of transferring criminal property.