Fugitive Swiss Cottage pensioner arrested after being spotted in High Court public gallery
The fugitive pensioner was arrested inside the Royal Courts of Justice. File picture: PA Wire - Credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images
A fugitive pensioner who has been on the run from the police for months after fleeing the UK has been arrested in the High Court – when she was spotted sitting in the public gallery of a court room.
The 70-year-old, who had absconded from her home in Swiss Cottage to Germany earlier this year, was detained by officers in chaotic scenes at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand on Tuesday.
It comes after months of her being wanted by the police for questioning.
She was arrested on suspicion of harassment for her involvement in a case which saw two children make unfounded allegations a Satanic paedophile ring was operating out of a church and school in Hampstead.
In March, a High Court judge had found the claims to be “nothing other than utter nonsense” and part of a custody battle.
A hearing at the High Court on Tuesday, relating to an appeal for March’s judgement, saw the fugitive suddenly appear in the court room to watch proceedings from the public gallery.
As two Lord Justices went ahead with the hearing, High Court tipstaff were informed of her presence and the police were called, with officers waiting outside the court room doors to arrest her.
Screaming as she was detained, it took two police officers and three High Court security staff to drag her out of the court building.
She was subsequently released on police bail to a date in early October.
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A spokesman for the police said: “Officers arrested a woman aged in her early 70s on Strand, Westminster on Tuesday, 4 August on suspicion of harassment.
“She was taken to a north London police station, she was subsequently released on police bail to a date in early October.”.
