13 February 2025 , 21:09
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A man said he ‘had to fix these c****’ as he was swarmed by armed police after crashing his car into Buckingham Palace and causing nearly £25,000 worth of damage.
Johnny Scott, 26, drove his VW Polo into the south centre gate of the palace in March last year, causing £24,493 in damage.
Armed officers surrounded Scott who appeared ‘fidgety and dazed’.
He told the officers: ‘I have to fix this and these c****.’
No members of the royal family were inside the palace at the time of the incident.
Aamina Khalid, defending, said Scott had a ‘psychotic episode’ and suffered a relapse of bipolar disorder when the incident occurred, and was ‘not able to understand what his actions were’ as a result.
Scott had not been under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the incident, Ms Khalid said.
His family had called local mental health services ‘multiple times’ before the incident and had even reached out to their local MP, she said.
She told the court Scott expressed ‘a deep remorse’ for what happened and that it had been ‘completely out of character’.
District judge Neeta Minhas told Scott: ‘You have caused a very high level of damage to a structure that is of huge cultural importance in the United Kingdom.
‘You are very lucky that you didn’t get yourself shot that day.’
She handed Scott a 12-month community order and imposed an exclusion on entering the SW1 1AA postcode.
Scaffolding in place after the incident (Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
No members of the royal family were inside the palace at the time of the incident (Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
He was also ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work within the next year, and to pay £5,000 in compensation over a period of two years.
No victim surcharge was included.
Scott pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage over £5,000 on January 16.
A witness told of a ‘loud bang’ as the vehicle rammed the gates of the famous royal residence in central London.
He said: ‘I heard a loud bang, and I looked over and the car had crashed into Buckingham Palace.
‘Police were on the scene pretty quickly – and they got the man out and arrested him.’