A 25-year-old tourist “climbed over the wall of Buckingham Palace and began filming before being discovered hiding in a stable,” a court heard
A 25-year-old tourist “climbed over the wall of Buckingham Palace and began filming before being discovered hiding in a stable,” a court heard
- Awad Mustafa, 25, was arrested during his 10-day tour of the UK
A tourist who climbed over the walls of the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace was unable to climb out and had to hide in a stable, a court heard today.
Awad Mustafa, 25, was on a 10-day trip to Britain when he was arrested after allegedly breaking into the king’s official residence in the early hours of September 16.
He is also charged with theft after attempting to steal a motor vehicle from the riding stables in the same incident.
Mustafa was found outside the stables by Met Police officers at 1.25am. He had two passports from Ecuador and Spain, as well as an iPhone, cash and a cell phone charger.
He arrived in the UK on September 7 and had planned to fly to Spain the day after the incident.
A tourist who climbed over the walls of the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace was unable to climb out and had to hide in a stable, a court heard today
Awad Mustafa, 25, was on a 10-day trip to Britain when he was arrested after allegedly breaking into the king’s official residence in the early hours of September 16
Prosecutor Rhianne Neil told Westminster Magistrates’ Court: “At 1.30am on September 16 a member of the public called the police and the informant stated that the suspect was already at the premises.”
“Officers arrived at 2:30 a.m. and found Mustafa hiding in a corner with an iPhone, two passports, cash and a battery.
“A few moments later a car was found broken into at the scene, the glove compartment was opened but no missing items were found.”
“The defendant climbed the wall, found it was impossible to climb out again and suffered injuries while climbing the wall.” He denies breaking into the car.
“He has no fixed address in the UK, he had only arrived shortly before this incident and was planning to travel to Spain.” He was found to be in possession of two passports, one Spanish and one Ecuadorian.
Mustafa was found by Met police officers outside the stables at 1.25am with two passports, from Ecuador and Spain, an iPhone and cash
Met police said he did not enter the palace or its gardens at any time.
Mustafa made no objection and was denied bail at an earlier hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
He was remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing at the same court on October 16.
District Judge Amanda Pilling told next week’s hearing: “The offense with which you are charged is a serious one and requires the consent of the Attorney-General for you to be prosecuted. “That will take some time.”