Man who 'went to Parliament to speak to Boris Johnson carrying swords' 'too ill' to attend court

A man alleged to have turned up outside Parliament wearing armour and carrying samurai swords "to speak to Boris Johnson" was said to be "too ill" to attend court.

Lewis Allington, 34, from March, Cambridgeshire, was due to appear at Southwark Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on December 12 2024.

He appeared for an initial hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court last November when he was charged with two counts of possession of bladed articles.

He was earlier arrested after an incident outside Parliament, which led to several police officers intervening and the Carriage Gates entrance being temporarily closed.

At a short hearing District Judge Briony Clarke was told by Malachy Pakenham, prosecuting, that the defendant travelled to London from Cambridgeshire, put on body armour, and attended Parliament "with two samurai swords, asking to see Boris Johnson".

Defence lawyer Norman Cho said Allington had "no intention of harming anyone with the weapons".

District Judge Clarke told Allington, who was dressed in a red sweatshirt and green trousers, he would be granted bail on condition that he remained at a Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust facility, following a recent mental health assessment in Hammersmith.

Under bail conditions, he is not allowed anywhere inside the M25.

As Allington left the dock he asked about the location of the swords and armour, to which the judge said: "Nothing is being destroyed at the moment."

The next hearing is now due in February.