Man tackled to ground after ‘trying to pull flag’ from Queen’s coffin in front of horrified mourners at Westminster Hall
A MAN was tackled to the ground tonight after trying to pull the flag from the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall.
Horrified mourners watched on as the yob leapt over the aisle and grabbed the Royal Standard with both hands.
In seconds, cops pulled him to the ground, prompting live streams to cut their footage for as long as 15 minutes while onlookers gasped in horror.
It’s believed the man was trying to reveal Her Majesty’s coffin underneath the flag as she lies in state until Monday.
Shocking scenes saw the intruder bolt up the stairs leading up to the catafalque.
Cops and staff raced to pull him to the ground with lightning speed, before bundling on top of him and carrying him away.
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One witness told The Sun: “We thought someone had fainted and then we heard someone shriek.
“Someone got up to the coffin, grabbed the flag and pulled it upwards.
“They picked up the bottom and wafted it, almost to see what was underneath. It happened so fast.”
The mourner, who did not wish to be named, described members of the public “hysterically crying” and “shaking” after the horror intrusion.
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They also said the disturbing scene was “extremely upsetting” to watch, adding: “It’s such disrespect to the body. Just not what you thought you would ever see.”
Another witness, Tracey Holland, said her seven-year-old niece was in the firing line as the man took his chance.
She said: “Some person decided they were going to push my [seven-year-old niece] out the way, run up to the coffin, lift up the standard and try to do I don’t know what.
“She was grabbed out the way and the police had him within two seconds.”
‘SO DISRESPECTFUL’
Tracey added: “Terrible, absolutely terrible, so disrespectful and unbelievable – and this poor little seven-year-old child, this is her lasting memory of the Queen.”
The horror came just hours after King Charles guarded his mother’s coffin for 15 minutes with Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne this evening.
The siblings stood guard over their mother as they did in Scotland earlier this week – in a moving tradition known as Vigil of the Princes.
As the vigil took place, emotional mourners continued to flood into the hall to pay their respects, having queued for hours to be there.
After a signal from one of the Queen’s bodyguards, the King led his siblings away.
Met cops said a man was later arrested for an offence under the Public Order Act and is currently in custody.
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A spokesperson for the force said: “At 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.”