Man arrested after ‘disturbance’ at Westminster Hall as mourners viewed coffin
Queen Elizabeth II has been lying in state in the hall with mourners waiting for hours overnight to see her coffin
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
A man has been arrested following a ‘disturbance’ at Westminster Hall, where the Queen is lying in state.
Met Police officers detained the man at around 10pm on Friday after an incident that took place as mourners filed into the hall to pay their respects to the late monarch.
Mourners have been queuing for 13 hours or more to see the Queen ahead of her funeral on Monday.
A woman who was in the hall at the time queuing to see the coffin claimed her seven-year-old niece was pushed out of the way during the incident.
Tracey Holland told Sky News: “The police had him within two seconds. We’re just trying to get her back again.
“She has been up since 2am, and has been in the queue for 15 hours.”
She added: “Terrible, absolutely terrible, so disrespectful and unbelievable - and this poor little seven-year-old child, this is her lasting memory of the Queen.”
A spokesperson for UK parliament said: “We’re aware of an incident in Westminster Hall, in which a member of the public moved out of the queue and towards the Catafalque.
“They have now been removed from the Hall and the queue restarted with minimal disruption.”
It comes after a 19-year-old man allegedly exposed himself and pushed into mourners from behind as they waited in the line at Victoria Tower Gardens on Wednesday.
Adio Adeshine is said to have gone into the River Thames in an attempt to evade police before coming out and being arrested.
He was remanded in custody on Friday after appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
On the latest arrest, a Met police spokesperson said: “Around 22:00hrs on Friday 16 September officers from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command detained a man in Westminster Hall following a disturbance.
“He was arrested for an offence under the Public Order Act and is currently in custody.”
Earlier in the evening, King Charles and his siblings had taken part in the Vigil of the Princes in the same hall.
Along with Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne, the King stood in silence at the coffin’s side for 15 minutes, at around 7.30pm.
Public viewings of the coffin are set to continue until 6.30am on Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral at nearby Westminster Abbey.
As of 9pm on Friday night, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s lying in state queue tracker said lines were expected to last for “at least 22 hours”, warning people “overnight temperatures will be cold”.