Man, 28, charged for allegedly grabbing Queen Elizabeth's coffin

A 28-year-old man has been charged after allegedly grabbing Queen Elizabeth's coffin.

Muhammad Khan, of Tower Hamlets, east London, was arrested in Westminster Hall on Friday (Sept 16) following a disturbance at the lying in state of the late monarch and on Saturday, he was charged under the Public Order Act for behaviour intending to cause alarm, harassment or distress.

He will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday (Sept 19), the day of the queen's state funeral.

The shocking incident took place at around 10pm (5am Singapore time) on Friday when the man allegedly shoved mourners aside and rushed towards the coffin, where he tried to lift the Royal Standard.

One witness told MailOnline: "We saw him (the man) in the queue from the beginning of the queue and throughout the day, he was by himself.

"When we entered the room we were at the top of the stairs when we saw the incident.

"A lady screamed as it happened it was quite unnerving. Although he was detained and people kept calm and carried on."

Another witness, Tracey Holland, whose seven-year-old niece, Darcy, was pushed aside by the man, branded the "terrible" incident "so disrespectful".

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She said: "A 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.

"[It was] 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 the Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrest.

They said: "At 10pm 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."

A spokesperson for the 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."