A man who touched Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin has appeared in court

Muhammad Khan, 28, allegedly left the queue at Westminster Hall on Friday night when the monarch lay in state, because the live channel was cut off for a short time.

Khan was arrested at the scene and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with two counts under the Public Order Act.

Prosecutor Luke Staton said Khan was among around 250,000 people who filed through the hall between 5pm on Wednesday and into the early hours of Monday morning to pay their respects after queuing for hours on the banks of the River Thames.

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“The accused reached Westminster Hall. He was then seen by officers who attended approach the coffin” he said.

“He stepped off the carpet in the direction of the hearse, then grasped with both hands the royal standard draped over the coffin.”

The court learned that he was quickly detained, arrested and interrogated by the police.

“The defendant did express the idea that the Queen was not dead and that he went to the coffin because he wanted to check for himself,” Mr Staton said.

“He said that before the state funeral, he planned to go to the funeral.

“He planned to write to the royal family and if they didn’t respond, he planned to go to Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Balmoral to try and speak to the Queen.”

The court heard Khan said that if unsuccessful he said: “I would have to push boundaries to try and make contact” and when asked how many times he would try he said: “As long as I live”.

READ MORE: Footage of man touching Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall

District Judge Michael Snow did not question Hahn, who was not represented by a lawyer, after doctors deemed him unfit to stand trial.

The court found he was suffering from delusions and the judge told him: ‘At the time you were at Westminster you did not accept the queen was dead and so you moved towards the coffin to make sure she was dead.

He added: “He’s still delusional and thinks the Queen isn’t dead, thinks King Charles has something to do with it and can go to Windsor Castle to pay his respects, but also because he still thinks that she is alive.”

Khan spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and that he was living at a friend’s address in Wood Green, north London, at the time of the hearing.

A judge granted him bail on the condition that he remain in an east London mental institution health hospital until his next appearance in the same court on October 18.