A man has admitted trying to harm the Queen after being caught in the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow.
Jaswant Singh Chail told police he was “here to kill the Queen” after breaking into the grounds on Christmas Day 2021.
Today he pleaded guilty to charges under section two of the Treason Act 1842, along with possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill.
The 21-year-old, from Southampton, was wearing a mask at the time and the Queen was in residence.
He came within sight of the late monarch’s private apartments when he was stopped by a police officer.
The officer said he looked like “something out of a vigilante movie”.
Chail, a former supermarket worker, had uploaded a video to TikTok half an hour before his stunt, saying he was taking revenge for the Amritsar massacre of 1919 in India.
He had a fringe and neatly trimmed beard as he appeared by video link in court from a room at Broadmoor secure mental hospital, wearing a black jacket with fake fur collar, black t-shirt.
He spoke only to enter his pleas, leaning forward to speak into the microphone.
A previous hearing was told that shortly after 8.10am on 25 December 2021, an officer was on duty at the gate which serves as the main vehicle and foot access into the private part of the castle.
The Queen was in her private apartments at the time and the gate “allowed immediate access to the apartments. It is never open to the public,” Kathryn Selby, prosecuting, said.
‘Morning, can I help mate?’
The officer saw Chail walking slowly through the private grounds towards him and began to approach him.
As he did so, the officer realised that Chail had his hood over his head and was wearing a mask which the officer described as “like something out of a vigilante movie or dressed for Halloween.”
The officer unclipped his Taser before saying, “Morning, can I help mate?”
Chail told him: “I am here to kill the Queen.”
Realising that the man was holding a crossbow, the officer drew his Taser and shouted for him to drop the weapon and get to his knees.
Chail immediately complied, placing his hands on the top of his head when told to do so, before repeating “I am here to kill the Queen.”
The weapon was loaded with a crossbow bolt with the safety catch off and ready to fire.
Prosecutors revealed that crossbow bolts, a metal file and other items were later found in a hotel room, where Chail had stayed the previous night.
The crossbow was said to be comparable to a powerful air rifle and had the potential to cause serious or fatal injury.
The video in which Chail claimed responsibility had been recorded four days earlier and sent to Chail’s contacts list about 10 minutes before his arrest, prosecutors said.
‘Please don’t remove my clothes’
During a search, a handwritten note was found that read: “Please don’t remove my clothes, shoes and gloves, masks etc, don’t want post mortem, don’t want embalming, thank you and I’m sorry.”
He was 19 at the time of the attempted attack and a British citizen, born in Winchester, without any previous convictions, cautions or traces on the police national computer.
Nick Price, head of the Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Chail had been intercepted by armed officers in what was a “rare” incident.
The case was investigated by Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Command.
Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Counter-Terrorism Command, said after the plea hearing: “This was an extremely serious incident, but one which the patrolling officers who apprehended Chail managed with great composure and professionalism.
“They showed tremendous bravery to confront a masked man who was armed with a loaded crossbow, and then detain him without anyone coming to harm.”
Reason for delay to treason case
Chail was detained under the Mental Health Act before being sectioned and transferred to Broadmoor secure mental health unit in February.
Alison Morgan KC, prosecuting, said that a report produced in November indicated he was now fit to enter pleas, after it noted a significant improvement in his health.
Reporting restrictions on the details of the case were lifted after Chail pleaded guilty to attempting to injure or alarm the sovereign, contrary to section two of the Treason Act 1842.
The case was adjourned for further psychiatric reports and he will be sentenced on 31 March.
A man who was jailed for his involvement in the abduction of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews has died.
Michael Donovan became notorious in 2008 after the schoolgirl was found alive in his flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire, 24 days after she was reported missing from her home in nearby Dewsbury.
The 54-year-old died on Tuesday after collapsing at The Three Valleys Hospital, a mental health unit in Keighley, West Yorkshire, according to The Sun.
The paper reported that Donovan, who was released from prison in 2012, had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
He was jailed in early 2009 alongside Shannon’s mother, Karen Matthews, after the pair had planned the disappearance in an attempt to claim a £50,000 cash reward offered at the time by a national newspaper.
Donovan was the uncle of Shannon’s stepfather, Craig Meehan.
Shannon, who is now 25, was found in Donovan’s flat in Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, in the base of a divan bed.
She had been drugged and forced to adhere to a strict list of rules while being held captive.
Leeds Crown Court was told at the time that the ordeal had left Shannon “disturbed and traumatised” and suffering nightmares.
The search for the schoolgirl cost West Yorkshire Police an estimated £3.2m and was the largest inquiry in the force’s history since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.
Donovan and Matthews were jailed for eight years in January 2009 after being found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.
During sentencing, Mr Justice McCombe suggested other people may have been involved in the plot.
However, police said the case was closed and there was no evidence to bring any more charges.
West Yorkshire Police said on Wednesday: “Police were contacted on Tuesday 16 April and made aware of the death of a man in hospital in the Steeton area.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious and inquiries will be conducted on behalf of the coroner.”
The group which runs The Three Valleys Hospital declined to comment.
Detectives investigating human remains found wrapped in plastic at a Salford nature reserve believe children who were playing in the area days before the discovery could have crucial information.
The crime scene in Kersal Dale Wetlands has been lifted after a 12-day search involving more than 100 officers, an underwater search team and dogs.
Warning: This story contains details readers may find distressing
The “significant body part” found wrapped in clear plastic on Thursday 4 April was today confirmed by Greater Manchester Police to consist of the bottom part of the deceased’s back, buttocks and thigh.
Detectives are working to identify the victim, who they say was a man likely over the age of 40. It appears he was white, with no distinguishable marks on his body such as scars or tattoos, police added.
Officers think he had only been dead for a few days.
Police have launched a murder investigation and are appealing for witnesses, including dog walkers, who were in the area between 6am and 6pm on the day a passer-by made the grim discovery.
A trawl of footage from nearby CCTV cameras found children were playing in the area in the days leading up to the body part being found and officers believe they “could hold crucial information without even realising it”.
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Detective Chief Inspector Andy Naismith said: “Our focus from day one has remained on the victim’s family. They will be suffering the loss of a loved one, and we need to be able to give them answers so they can come to terms with their loss. Our work is far from over, this is just the beginning of a long and complex investigation.”
He added: “Although we haven’t found any more human remains in the area from our searches, we continue to work with an open mind whilst our murder investigation continues.”
The investigation cannot confirm the deceased’s nationality at this stage, the detective added.
He said: “My team have checked the victim’s DNA against the UK police database and although this does not bring up a match, there is extensive work ongoing, including trawls of various other databases, missing person records and medical records; it’s a big piece of work which will take time.”
The police also want to hear from members of the public who may have a missing family member, DCI Naismith said.
He added: “Right now, as well as wanting to speak to those who may have been in the area where the body part was found, we are also appealing to anyone who has a dad, brother, or son who they have not seen in over 12 days to come forward and speak to us.
“Our victim could be a family member, friend, co-worker or acquaintance and someone somewhere will have an idea of what has happened to him.”
Olly Murs has announced the birth of his first child with his wife Amelia.
The 39-year-old singer published a photo on Instagram of the couple walking down the corridor of a hospital holding hands, with the singer carrying their newborn in a car seat.
He captioned the picture: “Our mini murs has arrived. Madison we love you so much already x.”
The couple announced in December that they were expecting their first child.
The singer married 31-year-old Amelia, a bodybuilder, in a star-studded wedding – featuring a festival called Murs Fest – in July 2023 on Osea Island in Essex.
Murs proposed to Amelia on a south coast clifftop during the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday in 2022.
The singer shot to fame on The X Factor in 2009 and has since released seven albums, achieving four number-one singles in the UK.
Murs returned to present The X Factor in 2015 after hosting its spin-off show The Xtra Factor for two years. He was also a coach on The Voice UK from 2018 to 2023.