Hatton Garden heist suspects appear in court

EIGHT men accused of conspiring to carry out the Hatton Garden jewellery raid have been remanded in custody, as it was revealed that the losses amount to more than £10 million.

The accused in the dock yesterday, before they were remanded in custody. Picture: PA

It is alleged the men plotted to enter the Hatton Garden Safety Deposit firm as trespassers, with intent to steal.

Prosecutor Edmund Hall said that while the total value of the goods stolen was not yet known, it ran “in excess of £10m” and 73 safety deposit boxes had been looted.

Terry Perkins, 67, Daniel Jones, 58, and Hugh Doyle, 48, all of Enfield, north London; William Lincoln, 59, of Bethnal Green, east London; and John Collins, 74, of Islington, north London, all appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Also in court were Brian Reader, 76, and Paul Reader, 50, both of Dartford, Kent; and Carl Wood, 58, of Cheshunt, Hertforshire, who face the same charge of conspiracy to burgle between 1 April and 19 May.

They arrived at the court in a convoy of police vans, escorted by armed officers, and spoke only to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.

When the men first stepped into court, some supporters in the packed public gallery waved towards the dock, before sitting and listening to the brief hearing.

The men were remanded in custody over their alleged participation in raiding the safety deposit vault in London’s jewellery quarter, over the Easter weekend.

They are due to next appear at Southwark Crown Court on 4 June for a preliminary hearing.

Scotland Yard also announced yesterday that a 42-year-old British man had been arrested in Essex on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle.

Another man, arrested on 19 May, has been bailed pending further inquiries.

The raid saw thieves break into the vault at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company.

Officers believe that the raiders got into the building, which houses a number of businesses, through a communal entrance before disabling a lift so they could climb down the shaft to the basement.

It is thought they then forced open shutter doors and used a drill to bore a hole 20 inches deep and 10 inches high, into the vault wall.

Once inside, the thieves ransacked dozens of safety deposit boxes, taking millions of pounds of items.

After facing criticism for the way the incident was handled, the Metropolitan Police apologised for not following procedures when receiving a call from a security firm about an intruder alert at the premises at midnight on Good Friday.

But Met detectives rejected the suggestion that they had acted like bungling “Keystone Cops”.