A recent security breach in the royal Buckingham Palace has the world shocked, as a 25-year old man hides among royal treasures.
The Buckingham Palace is one of the most secure landmarks in England. Despite it being King Charles’s official residence, he chooses to not stay there because of certain reasons. Being deemed a part-time king, Charles’s working hours in the palace are also very minimal.
The King has made a lot of changes to the iconic landmark, which hasn’t sat too well with the rest of the royals. But it looks like the palace is lacking a tad bit in terms of security.
As history has it, this isn’t the first break-in to happen at Buckingham Palace. 1982’s Michael Fagan’s break-in has made history, as the accused broke into the Queen’s bedroom. Recently, there was a security breach in the royal Buckingham Palace, and it has left its security personnel and occupants a bit alarmed. Here’s what happened.
The security breach
It is not common to see a security breach at well-guarded landmarks such as Buckingham Palace. The last one to occur was back in 2013. But recently, a man was accused and arrested for climbing the walls of the palace. Awad Mustafa, the 25-year-old accused, illegally entered the palace grounds by climbing its walls. Mustafa even went to the extent of filming himself climbing into the grounds of the palace, but he could not climb back out. He subsequently hid in the stables when he realized that climbing out wasn’t an option he could take. He was found hiding in the stables next to a horse, as per reports. And was immediately taken into custody by the London Police for questioning.
As per the official statement of the Metropolitan Police, the following was said about this crime.
“At no point did the man enter Buckingham Palace or the palace gardens.”
The Royal Mews is a collection of stables that belong to the royal family. It includes an impressive collection of historical royal carriages and even the Gold State Coach. It is the location responsible for all road-related travels, for both the King and the other members of the royal family, as per ABC.
The accused
Mustafa was said to be visiting the U.K. where this incident occurred. He was discovered by a London police in the stables, hiding next to a horse. With an Ecuadorian and Spanish passport in hand, he was clearly not from the U.K. He also had on him some cash, an iPhone, and a portable charger, as per The Express.
He is said to have arrived in the country on the 7th of September and broke into the palace on the 16th. It is said that he was set to leave the country and head to Spain the day after the breaking-in incident occurred. But he got caught right on time, before doing anything further. As per BBC, the accused was held under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act on suspicion of trespassing.
The legal implications
A crime such as this does not fly without any legal implications. Mustafa was brought to Westminster Magistrate's Court donning a prison-issue tracksuit. He was made to speak up, confirm his name, and admit to the act of trespassing on a protected site.
As per The Express, prosecutor Rhianne Neil said the following.
"On September 16, just before 1.30 a.m., a member of the public called the police stating they had seen a man climbing the wall on Grosvenor Road bordering the Royal Mews.
“The suspect was then seen inside the grounds and filming with a mobile phone. Officers attended the scene at around 2.30 a.m. and found the defendant hiding in the corner of the paddock with a horse."
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