Palace intruder arrested as he scales fence

Police said the man was found “in an area currently open to the public during the day” and arrested for burglary, trespass and criminal damage.

A second man was arrested outside the palace for conspiracy to commit burglary following the incident shortly before 10.30pm on Monday.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “Both men have been bailed to return to a central London police station and enquiries continue.

“A review of the specific circumstances of this incident is being carried out. No members of the Royal Family were at Buckingham Palace at the time of the incident.”

A spokesman added that security would form part of the review.

Buckingham Palace did not comment.

The break-in is one of the most serious security breaches at the palace since 1982, when Michael Fagan evaded guards to get inside the Queen’s private chambers while she was still in bed.

The unemployed father of four, 31, spent around 10 minutes talking to the Queen after he climbed over the palace walls and up a drainpipe.

The Queen managed to raise the alarm when Fagan asked for a cigarette, allowing her to call for a footman who held him until police arrived.

The Queen has been spending her summer break at Balmoral Castle since the beginning of August and is not expected to return to the palace until October.

She is expected to make her traditional appearance at a Highland Games today.

The Braemar Gathering is held each year just a short distance from the Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire.

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