A drunken American tourist who climbed into Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace filmed himself saying “the King is asleep”, a court heard as he was spared jail.
Awad Mustafa, 25, was on a 10-day trip to the UK when he was arrested after breaking into the King’s official residence in the early hours of Sept 16.
Mustafa, a computer engineer for Apple, filmed himself on his phone saying “the King is asleep” before he was found hiding in the corner of a paddock with a horse, Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told.
Antonia Gray, defending Mustafa, said her client was drunk at the time.
She told the court: “This is a 25-year-old man who behaved in an immature, reckless and foolish way. I hope you accept that this was drunken behaviour.
“He accepts that he caused a huge amount of concern. It was a great nuisance, no more than that.
“He has had seven weeks to reflect on the behaviour that led to his incarceration for such a lengthy period of time.”
Found ‘hiding in horses’ paddock’
Earlier Rhianne Neil, prosecuting, said: “On Sept 16, just before 1:30am, 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 2:30am and found the defendant hiding in the corner of the paddock with a horse.”
When taken into custody, Mustafa claimed he had climbed the wall to take photos and wanted to get a better angle.
While scaling the wall, he claimed he fell and injured himself and couldn’t get back over it.
Upon arrest he was found with two passports – from Ecuador and Spain – an iPhone, cash, and a battery pack to charge his phone.
‘Very stupid drunken mistake’
Daniel Sternberg, the district judge, said in sentencing: “In the early hours of that day you climbed over a wall on Buckingham Palace Road.
“You were seen on CCTV filming using your mobile phone. Police officers arrived and found you hiding in one of the stables. You can be heard saying ‘the King is asleep’ [in one of the videos].
“You are a relatively young man of previous good character. By pleading guilty you have lost that good character.
“It seems that there was some planning involved on your part. The harm comes from breaching the confines of the Royal Palace.
“You made a very stupid, drunken mistake, and I am dealing with you on that basis. You need to understand that if there is any repetition of this behaviour on your part it is extremely unlikely that you would be dealt with in such a lenient way again. It is highly likely that you would face an immediate custodial sentence.”
Mustafa, who gave his address as Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, was fined £1,000 and must also pay a £400 victim surcharge with £85 in prosecution costs.
He earlier admitted one count of trespass on a protected site.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/06/tourist-buckingham-palace-king-london-trespassing/
