A review of security will be held at the Old Bailey in London after a defendant who was facing a murder charge ran from the dock and punched the presiding judge yesterday. Judge Ann Goddard (64) was being treated at University College Hospital for minor head and facial injuries following the attack.
The Metropolitan Police, the Courts Service and the security firm Securicor, yesterday launched an immediate inquiry into how the defendant was able to run from the dock and attack the judge on the bench. Judge Goddard had just adjourned the case to enable the man, in his 30s, who is charged with murdering his girlfriend by striking her 44 times with a sword, to consult his lawyers.
The defendant jumped over the dock, picked up a jug of water from the jury bench, and threw it at the judge. It missed her and smashed against a wall behind her chair.
A policeman described the panic as the judge was knocked to the ground: "Everyone thought he was trying to escape and blocked off the exits, but instead, he ran down the side of the court and on to the platform where the judge sits.
"He punched her and I think there were five or six other punches which connected as we grabbed him and were trying to pull him away. The judge had a gash to her left temple. It was about 1 1/2 inches long and would probably need stitches."
The Bar Council described the attack as appalling and called for greater protection for court officials.
