Knifeman Tasered outside palace after tense stand-off

A MAN is due to appear in court today after he was Tasered outside London's Buckingham Palace when he held a knife to his neck.

The man was seen ranting and shouting and pressed a second six-inch knife to his chest before a policeman shot him with the Taser.

He is expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in London charged with two counts of possessing a bladed weapon in public and one of affray, Scotland Yard said.

The drama unfolded as hundreds of tourists and Londoners gathered outside the palace for the midday changing of the guard.

Talhat Rehman (54) of Harrow was quickly surrounded and the weapons kicked out of harm's way while officers checked him over.

handkerchief

The queen and Prince Philip were at Sandringham at the time of the incident.

A scene was cordoned off with police tape 30m from the palace gates, and an ambulance was parked near the building.

Inside the cordoned-off area lay the two knives, a pair of Nike runners, the man's hat and a black carrier bag containing paper and material. A handkerchief lay beside the bag.

The scene created confusion among those tourists who had not seen the incident.

After the man was taken into custody and the procession had finished, tourists arriving at the palace asked police if the items were part of an exhibition.

"It is not what you expect to see outside Buckingham Palace," one holidaymaker said.

hnews@herald.ie