Tara Wolf, pictured, walked free from court afdter assaulting Maria MacLachlan during a demonstration at Speaker's Corner

An transgender activist and aspiring model who smashed a feminist's camera as violence flared between activists at a Speakers' Corner rally has walked free from court today.

Tara Wolf, 26, punched Maria MacLachlan, 61, at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park last year when protesters clashed over the rights of trans women.

She was ordered to pay £430 in fines and costs after a judge declared the language of the transgender debate 'antagonistic to say the least'.

Ms MacLachlan, who describes herself as a 'gender critical feminist', had her £120 Panasonic camera knocked out of her hand by hooded Wolf, who identifies as female.

Wolf claimed she was terrified any footage of her would be used to out her as transgender and acted in self defence.

She denied assault by beating but was found guilty by Hendon Magistrates.

District Judge Kenneth Grant told Wolf: 'I find it matters of sentence this is a case of low culpability and low harm.

'I am ordering you pay a fine of £150 and further ordering you to pay a victim surcharge of £30.

'You will make a contribution of prosecution costs of £250'

As she was convicted feminist Dr Julia Long, who gave evidence in the case, shouted into her phone 'Guilty, guilty, violent. The man is guilty. I don't care.'

Then then went to the court's balcony and shouted: 'Guilty, guilty of male violence!'

The 26-year-old (pictured outside court) was found guilty of assaulting Maria MacLachlan, 61, during a demonstration at Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park on September 13, last year

Transgender activist Tara Wolf (left) and radical trans-exclusionary feminist Maria MacLachan (right) outside court

The court heard that Wolf and her group shouted: 'When TERFS attack, we fight back.'

TERFs is a term that applies to Trans-exclusionary Radical Feminists, a group that believe trans women should not have the same rights as cisgendered women

Wolf, wearing a hoodie and with multi coloured leggings ran up Ms MacLachlan and slapped her, sending the camera spinning from her hand and breaking it beyond repair.

Giving evidence MacLachlan told the court: 'A hooded figure ran out at me from left to right, knocking the camera from hand.

'They swatted it. It was strapped to my wrist, so it was caught by my wrist..

'I was extremely shocked that it had happened. It was a split second that it happened in. I was very, very angry.

She added: 'We were a peaceful group of women.'

Ms MacLachlan had gone to the talk to debate gender and the Gender Recognition Act.

She and her friends were mocked by Wolf who said that TERFS stood for: 'Trans-Exterminatory Radical Feminists' who wanted all trans-people to be exterminated.

Maria MacLachaln, left, was assaulted by Ms Wolf during the demonstration at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park on September 13, 2017

Wolf admitted before attending the rally she had posted on a Facebook event page: 'I want to f**k up some TERFS they are no better than FASH. (Fascists)'.

Wolf, from Stratford, east London denied assault by beating.

Returning his verdict at Hendon Magistrates' Court, District Judge Kenneth Grant said: 'Miss Wolf is an activist on transgender issues.

'The group of protesters, of which she was one, attended Speakers' Corner effectively to take issue with the views of a separate group of radical feminists who they refer to as Terfs.

'The politics of the transgender debate was not dealt with in any detail in the trial and there was not, in my view, a need for the politics of that debate to be specifically considered, safe to say that they are strongly held, passionately expressed, opposing stand points.

Protesters erected a banner outside Hendon Magistrates' Court

'The language of the debate between the different wings of the transgender discussion is antagonistic to say the least.

'Miss Wolf referred to the rally, the meeting at Hyde Park, and the meeting due to follow the meeting at Speakers' Corner, she referred to it as a hate rally.

'The group she was protesting against, she referred to that group and persons comprising, as trans exterminatory radical feminists, which is strong language.

'She referred to Terfs wanting to exterminate people like me and that may have been an honestly held belief, but it demonstrates the position of the views held by opposing members of the debate.'

Wolf, who the court heard receives £320 per month job seeker's allowance, was told to pay a £150 fine, £30 victim surcharge and £250 prosecution costs.

A group of demonstrators waited outside the court during the trial of Tara Wolf

Ms MacLachlan was told by a district judge at Hendon Magistrates' Court, pictured, to refer to her alleged attacker using the correct pronoun while giving evidence against Ms Wolf

But in giving his verdict, the Judge also branded Miss MacLachlan ungraceful for failing to refer to Wolf as 'she' during the two-day trial.

He said: 'When I asked Miss MacLachlan to refer to the defendant as she, she did so with bad grace.

'Having asked her to refer to Miss Wolf as she as a matter of courtesy, she continued to refer to Miss Wolf as he and him.

'The language of the debate is antagonistic and hostile.'

The fracas broke out after Miss MacLachlan tried to film counter demonstrators, including Wolf, when the two groups clashed at the demo.

Referring to a video of Wolf attempting to slap a camera from Miss MacLachlan's hand, the judge said: 'That, I concluded, was an assault.

'It was a relatively minor assault.

'I suspect it that was the only altercation that was recorded during that event, it would not have resulted in this trial.'

Wolf's solicitor, Jodie Alexander, had claimed she attacked Miss MacLachlan in a bid to stop her partner being assaulted.

It was also claimed Wolf feared footage would be leaked online to 'out' her as transgender.

But Judge Grant said: 'The idea that any one of those assaults was a prevention of crime is not an argument in this case that I was prepared to accept and I specifically reject.'

He rejected evidence that Miss MacLachlan held a counter demonstrator in a head lock before the attack.

The Judge added: 'All three incidents of which there was physical contact between Miss Wolf and Miss MacLachlan did amount to assault and in relation to the defence of self-defence or defence of another or prevention of crime.'