Grant Shepherd posted a video of the incident on YouTube
Grant Shepherd posted a video of the incident on YouTube

The man who was Tasered outside Buckingham Palace after wielding two knives wanted the Queen to help him with his debt problems, his family has claimed.

Talhat Rehman, 54, was Tasered then arrested by police after jumping the barriers during the Changing of the Guard ceremony outside the palace and holding one knife to his throat and another to his chest.

Rehman, a businessman who unsuccessfully stood for election as a Tory councillor, appeared at Westminster magistrates' court charged with affray and two counts of possessing a bladed weapon in public.

His family said the 54-year-old was driven to despair after losing nearly £170,000 in an alleged investment fraud and spending tens of thousands of pounds attempting to retireive the money in legal costs.

After remortgaging his house and selling his wife's jewellery, Rehman was declared bankrupt in September.

Police said there was not enough evidence against the solicitor alleged to have stolen £168,000 off Rehman in a property deal and advised the latter to pursue a civil case. Rehman also tried and failed to get sufficient help from his MP.

On the morning of his arrest, Raheem is reported to have rang a colleague to say: "Either today I will be heard or I am finishing my life".

She's our Queen and I can talk to her

His son, Kassum Raja, 30, told the Daily Telegraph: "He's in such debt. He invested £168,000 in a property a few years back. He remortgaged his house. The people he invested with ran off with the money.

"Because of that he's been going to MPs, to the police, to get help. But they didn't listen. In the end he said, 'I'm going direct to the Queen. She's our Queen so I can talk to her'."

The court was told that Rehman needed a psychiatric assessment after a mental health nurse raised issues.

His family added that he did not have any mental health issues until he lost the money. Rehman's father, Abdul Rehman, 81, told the Daily Mail: "The police don't give a damn. If someone steals money, the police should punish them. But they haven't taken any action."

Rehman was remanded in custody and will attend a second hearing.