Moment man is detained outside Buckingham Palace

Friends of a man accused of throwing shotgun cartridges into the grounds of Buckingham Palace allege that he told them he “had a plan to get attention”. Dog breeder David Huber reportedly wanted to be seen by “someone in power” after making the 280-mile journey from his remote home in Cumbria to London.

The 59-year-old was arrested by armed police officers after shotgun cartridges were thrown into the grounds of the Royal residence.

His black backpack was laid on the ground and the contents removed. It is alleged that the bag contained shotgun carriages and a knife, passports, and a self-help book.

His sister Beverley, 63, says he texted her shortly before his arrest, telling her he planned to watch the Coronation “wiv my mutts”.

The Sun reports that she described him as a royalist and added: “He wouldn’t hurt a fly. He knew he would be arrested and get his voice heard.”

He is said to have feared he was being followed so hid his car and asked a friend to take him to a railway station after he’d made last-minute arrangements to care for his dogs.

After his arrest he underwent a mental health assessment and was deemed fit to be interviewed by police.

A friend said: “I got the impression he wanted to get noticed for something.

“He said he needed to get away from here and he needed to get some stuff sorted out.”

His friend drove him from his home in Cumbria to Darlington train station, around 50 minutes away.

He added: “He didn’t drive himself to the station because he didn’t want anyone following his car. He parked it somewhere close by and said: ‘I think I’m being followed.’

“He hadn’t even decided which railway station he was going to and didn’t say where he was getting a train to. He didn’t have a ticket.

“But he definitely said he needed to get things sorted. He said he had a plan to catch someone’s attention, someone in power.

“He felt under threat from somebody or something.”

His friend added: “I didn’t alert anyone because I don’t think he was a threat to anyone, apart from himself. He is not an aggressive man, he is a private, mild-mannered guy.

“I don’t think what he did was addressed towards the Royal family, I think it was just to make sure he made an impact.”

Huber ensured his 30 Hungarian Vizslar dogs, which can sell for up to £5,000 each, were well cared for before he headed to London.

He left them food and water and they had access to their outdoor enclosure.

Huber owns a state-of-the-art kennels on a smallholding where he breeds and trains the animals.

He lives in a detached house next to the kennels – which he converted from a barn which had been used by the previous owner to house sheep and fell ponies in the winter.

Friends say Huber is a “private, mild-mannered” dad who posted a heartfelt message on social media following the death of the Queen.

In a Facebook post he wrote: “It’s a massive loss to all.”

A month later, he posted a meme and wrote: “They said I changed a lot. I said a lot changed me.”

Huber was arrested at 7.15pm on Tuesday on suspicion of possessing a knife and ammunition.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said he initially asked to speak to a soldier.

Police officers told him it was not possible and at that point he reportedly began throwing ammunition.

Other witnesses said he had previously been heard saying he was “going to kill the King” but police say they were unaware of those reports.

Mr Adelekan said Huber was detained within seconds and arrested within five minutes.

A controlled explosion was carried out on his bag after he told police to handle it with care, but the contents proved harmless.

The blast was heard live on TV and took place as cordons were put up in the area just hours before a military rehearsal of the coronation procession.

Royal superfan John Loughrey, 68, is camping out on the Mall ahead of Saturday’s coronation and was shocked when he heard the explosion.

He said: “Our cheeks moved when we heard the explosions. I thought a bomb had gone off.”

Huber phoned his vets from custody to ask them to check on his dogs.

The incident is not being treated as terror-related by Scotland Yard.

Huber’s brother, Simon, 63, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: “It wouldn’t have been a serious threat.

“He is more of a danger to himself than to anyone else.

“My brother needs help. But if he won’t accept help, what can you do?”

Sources say the King had left Buckingham Palace an hour earlier after hosting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Adelekan said: “We have a protective security plan and one of the concerns is around lone individuals and we have a plan around that.

“We are still very confident of the plan we have in place for policing the coronation.”

A Pendragon vet was at the property checking on the dogs yesterday and said: “It’s not a puppy farm, he breeds good pups and trains them to a certain standard before he sells them.

“He is a proper breeder and if it doesn’t work out he will take dogs back.

“He must have felt really cornered for him to leave the dogs.

“But he left everything in good order, he left them with food and water, there wasn’t much for us to do but we will be calling back a couple of times a day to make sure everything is okay.”

Back in February, Jaswant Singh Chail, then aged 21, admitted a charge under the Treason Act of trying to harm the late Queen.

He was caught in the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow on Christmas Day 2021, close to the late Queen’s private quarters, where she and other members of the Royal Family were at the time.

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