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Chris Ramsey arrested in underpants in London hotel after police mistake him for knifeman

Ramsey was forced against a wall and handcuffed by an officer in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity

Maya Oppenheim
Monday 29 February 2016 15:10 EST
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A Met police spokesman confirmed the incident took place hours after reports of hotel staff being threatened at the five-star hotel
A Met police spokesman confirmed the incident took place hours after reports of hotel staff being threatened at the five-star hotel (BAFTA Flickr Creative Commons)

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Comedian Chris Ramsey was arrested in his underpants when police pushed into his hotel room at midnight.

The 29-year-old comedian from South Shields in Newcastle, was relaxing in preparation for his live show at London's Lyric Theatre, when officers broke down his hotel door on Sunday night.

He was forced against a wall and handcuffed by an officer, in what turned out to be an instance of mistaken identity.

The comedian, who has appeared on Mock The Week and Live At The Apollo and is currently touring the UK with his latest show, All Growed Up, gave a full-blown running commentary of the events on Twitter:

A Met police spokesman confirmed the incident took place, hours after reports of hotel staff being threatened at the five-star hotel.

She said: “Police were called at 18:55pm on Sunday to reports of a man with a knife who was threatening hotel staff at the Renaissance Hotel, St Pancras.

“Officers attended and searched the area, but the suspect was not found. The matter was reported as a racially aggravated harassment, and officers left the venue.

“At 00:36am on Monday an emergency call was made to police and it was reported that the suspect had returned to the location with a knife. Police attended and were informed the suspect was inside the hotel.

“Officers entered a room where they detained a man. Following further enquiries it was established he was not the suspect. Officers continue to liaise with the premises whilst they conduct further enquiries to identify the suspect.

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