Man charged after Eurostar chaos caused by 'Brexit protester' wearing St George's flag

Terry Maher charged with obstruction and causing public nuisance, say British Transport Police

Monday 01 April 2019 10:38 BST

Man with flag spotted on St Pancras roof (Twitter / @tic_tash_toe)

A north London man seen with a St George’s flag on top of St Pancras station has been charged by police after disrupting Eurostar trains at the weekend.

Terry Maher, 44, from Camden, will appear before magistrates on Monday after being charged with obstructing the railway and causing a public nuisance, British Transport Police (BTP) said.

Eyewitnesses at St Pancras said they spotted a protester on the tracks, shouting about Brexit and waving an England flag, on Friday evening.

The man was detained around 8.30am on Saturday after he was found to have spent the night on the roof of the station.

The 12-hour incident caused travel disruption for thousands of passengers between London and Paris after Eurostar suspended services.

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A BTP spokesman said: “The charges relate to an incident where a man was on top of railway infrastructure, resulting in a number of rail services from St Pancras International needing to be suspended as a safety precaution.”

He was remanded in custody to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan said: “Friday evening's incident was extremely challenging and I would like to thank the public for their patience whilst a number of specialist teams responded.

“This was a fast-paced inquiry and I am pleased that a man has now been charged in connection.”

Several services on the route had to be scrapped following the incident, which began on Friday evening and ended when a suspect was arrested around 12 hours later.

The incident began on the day the UK was originally due to leave the EU, and followed a day of pro-Brexit protests in Westminster.

The Metropolitan Police said five people were arrested at the demonstrations, including two for assault, one for drunk and disorderly, one for assaulting a police officer, and one who was identified as wanted for an offence in Hertfordshire.