Anti-nuclear activist breaches Westminster Abbey security at Nuclear deterrent service

A veteran anti-nuclear activist breached Westminster Abbey security at the Royal Navy National Service of Thanksgiving marking 50 years of nuclear armament on Friday (May 3).

69-year-old veteran CND activist and former Church of England reverend Keith Claringbull of Stoke-on-Trent passed through four different security checks before being apprehended.

Mr. Claringbull said he had “borrowed” a sailor’s hat as evidence of breaching security and entering the Abbey. The hat was returned to the owner by police officers and Mr. Claringbull was released without charge.

His intrusion occurred before the Duke of Cambridge arrived at the ceremony. Members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) greeted Prince William with chants of "shame on you" as he arrived at Westminster Abbey.

Anti-nuclear campaigners gathered outside the abbey and staged a "die-in" - lying on the ground pretending to be dead - to commemorate victims of nuclear war.