Bag of wires sparked bomb alert at US Embassy in London, court told

The US Embassy in London went into lockdown and bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion after a bag containing wires and an iPad was left outside, a court has heard.

Daniel Parmenter, 44, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of making a bomb hoax last November 22.

The court was told the defendant had denied intending to cause alarm, claiming it was just a form of “sophisticated graffiti art”.

Opening his trial on Monday, prosecutor Lucy Organ told how Parmenter had left the suspicious item in an alleyway by the embassy in Nine Elms, south-west London, at around 6am.

At 8.30am, a civilian guard for the US Embassy was on a routine patrol when she noticed what she thought looked like a bomb and “panicked”, Ms Organ said.

She backed away, took a photograph of the suspected bomb and returned to the embassy to raise the alarm.

A police officer on duty at the embassy saw the photograph and walked down the alleyway where he saw a drum, some photo frames, and a large metal tray with writing and a skull and crossbones on it, jurors were told.

Ms Organ said: “Next to all of this on the floor next to the wall was what appeared to be an IED, it was an old-style iPad with a key pad and firework wires all taped.”

As a result, a cordon was put in place, local roads were closed and the US embassy went into lockdown, the court was told.

Three bomb disposal officers attended the scene and carried out a controlled explosion.

The objects said to be left by the defendant included a piece of paper with “Danger Chemicals” written on it; a silver baking tray embellished with a skull and crossbones and the words “Warning Hazard” and a drum and drumsticks.

There was book of Wondercrump poetry in a frame, and a red picture frame containing assorted items including tools and a first aid kit, the court heard.

A box of dates was also found marked for the attention of the US Navy with the words “Do not X-ray, please inspect. Radiation. Hazard”.

An examination of CCTV from the area led to the identification and arrest of Parmenter at the home he shares with his mother two days later.

When he answered the door to police, Parmenter was wearing the same hat and jumper he had on in the CCTV footage.

On being arrested on suspicion of planting a device at the US Embassy, the defendant replied “I did” even before the officer had finished speaking.

He told officers: “I presume this is about the framed toolkit that my dad produced and I dropped round as a gift for the US Navy.”

He denied meaning any harm, saying: “It is basically a form of slightly sophisticated graffiti art of the non-vandal type.”

He added: “This is basically an art object, well two art objects.”

The defendant’s basement flat, described as a “hoarder’s property”, was searched and more items seized, the court was told.

Inside a green military-style rucksack on the sofa, police found what appeared to be a cross between a petrol bomb and a pipe bomb.

Explosives officers were called and determined it was not a viable device.

Next to the rucksack was a package wrapped in red paper with the US Embassy written on it.

After the parcel was X-rayed and declared safe, it was found to contain a Notting Hill Carnival book, a safety pin, half a bar of chocolate and various jar lids.

In a formal police interview, Parmenter said he placed items outside the US Embassy as an “art installation”.

Parmenter conceded that the items may, to the untrained eye, look like a suspicious device, but it was never intended that way.

He told police he had left other gifts at places on Halloween, saying on that occasion he gave the US Embassy a framed print relating to 9/11.

Ms Organ told jurors that the defendant did not deny leaving the objects on the perimeter wall of the US Embassy.

The issue in the trial would be whether Parmenter intended others to believe the device was likely to explode or ignite and cause personal injury or damage to property, she said.

Parmenter, of Kildare Terrace, Bayswater, west London, has denied making a bomb hoax and the Old Bailey trial continues.