A man has admitted trespassing at Buckingham Palace while carrying a Stanley-type knife.
Chorrie Thompson, 46, slipped through a gate to the rear of the royal residence in London when it was opened to allow a vehicle to exit at around 11.25am on April 15, a court heard.
Prosecutor Mike Mullin said Thompson made his way to the Lodge area to the right of the large gate before he was confronted by security staff and asked to leave.
“He says he wants to use the toilet and when he was refused permission he becomes aggressive and throws some documents he has onto the floor,” Mr Mullin said.
“He was only in there for 10 to 15 seconds before he leaves.”
The court heard that when police officers arrived, they found Thompson was carrying a Stanley-type carpenters’ knife.
Thompson held his back, which he complained was in pain, when he appeared in the dock of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, wearing a grey prison-issue tracksuit.
He spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and that he was of no fixed address, before pleading guilty to possessing a locking type of craft knife and trespassing on a protected site.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said: “This is obviously a serious and significant case given the nature of where he was and the offending that took place.”
But he added: “I recognise he didn’t produce the knife, it was only found as a result of the search, which was inevitable.”
Mr Goldspring said Thompson faces a minimum six-month prison term as a starting point, but adjourned sentencing until May 28 for pre-sentence and psychiatric reports to be prepared.
The court heard Thompson, who has a string of previous convictions for offences including burglary, had been in contact with a mental health team in Barnet, north London, and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
He was remanded in custody.
