A man has been jailed for possession of a bladed article after he snuck into the grounds of Buckingham Palace with a lock knife.
Chorrie Thompson, 46, of no fixed abode, admitted charges of possession of a bladed article and trespassing on a protected site when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, 17th April 2021.
He was back before the same court for sentencing on Friday, 28th May 2021.
Possession of a bladed article is an offence under section 139(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The offence, which is triable either way, has a maximum penalty of 6 months' custody on summary conviction, 4 years' custody on conviction on indictment.
Trespassing on a protected site is an offence under section 128(1) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. The offence has a maximum penalty of 6 months' custody on summary conviction.
The court heard that Thompson tailed a vehicle through one of the Palace's side gates on the morning of Thursday, 18th April 2021. He was apprehended by security staff a few seconds later and barely a few strides into the Palace grounds.
Tom Heslop, prosecuting, outlined the circumstances: "When the officer there needed to open the gates to let a vehicle through Mr Thompson was challenged and stated that he wished to use the toilet.
"He was detained just outside the Palace gates.
"Following a search, he was found in possession of a Stanley-type locking blade."
Thompson, who has paranoid schizophrenia, became agitated when confronted by security staff.
The court heard that Thompson had 32 previous convictions, including two for possession of a bladed article and 13 for burglary.
Anthony James, mitigating, said: "There's no forced entry, the defendant walked in when the gates were open. He was apprehended after only 10 seconds.
"The extent of the trespass was into security lodge, not in the main building. He had actually begun to leave the area when he was stopped.
"He went briefly into an area and indeed as soon as he saw people there, he threw some documents down and left and was apprehended outside the area he trespassed in.
"That can give you some certainty as to whether his intention was to enter the main building on a pre-planned an extensive trespass or a feature of his mental health difficulties."
District Judge Andrew Goldspring was of the opinion that Thompson's offences were so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.
The Judge was clearly frustrated at Thompson's failure to assist the Probation Service in the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
Sentencing, he said: "I don't accept at this stage he was seeking to use the toilet. Let's be blunt about it, he can't have not been aware where he was - it's a fairly obvious building, fairly large, most people know what it is.
"He gave a false name. Every time he's asked that specific question but interestingly not the other questions, he says no comment that might be because he knows full well what his intention was.
"Your real reason for being there may be more seriousness than I might assess but I'm not going to make that leap and guess why you are there."
Thompson was sentenced to 6 months' custody for possession of a bladed article and 2 months' custody concurrent for the trespass offence.
He was ordered to pay £128 victim surcharge and £85 towards prosecution costs.
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