London -
The businessman Tasered outside Buckingham Palace wanted to appeal directly to the Queen after claiming no one would help him when nearly £170 000 was stolen from him, his family said.
Talhat Rehman, 54, who unsuccessfully stood as a Tory councillor in 2002, appeared in court after allegedly waving a foot-long knife and a smaller knife and threatening to kill himself.
He was arrested after jumping over barriers during the Changing the Guard ceremony just before noon on Sunday. Rehman suggested he would harm himself if police came close, but an officer shot him with a 50 000-volt Taser. The Queen and Prince Philip were at Sandringham at the time.
On Monday, the grandfather’s family told the Mail that he was in a “desperate situation” after losing his business and savings and had been driven to despair after police refused to help him. They claim a solicitor, who has since been disqualified from practising for a year, stole 168,000 from him in a property deal.
Rehman, from Harrow, North-West London, lost his business and savings as a result and is desperate for justice, but had been told by police that he should pursue a civil case.
The family said the landlord for the building in which they run their butcher’s shop tried to repossess the premises three weeks ago. Rehman and his son had to sell their wives’ gold jewellery to pay the bills.
His son Kassum Raja, 30, of Harrow, said: “My father’s solicitor stole £168 000 from him and when he took her to court she closed down the firm. He went to the police, but they said it would be a huge bundle of work for them and they told us we would have to go private. We had to hire solicitors, but it was very expensive.
“He was in a desperate situation, so he went to his Queen. He said he was going to deliver the letter to Buckingham Palace or he would kill himself.”
Rehman’s family said he had spent £30 000 on legal fees trying to recover his money.
Rehman, who has five children and 18 grandchildren, had never had mental health problems until he lost the money, his family added.
His son, who now runs the butcher’s shop in Kingsbury, said: “Since Monday, the whole family’s been under stress. My four kids couldn’t believe it.
“One was so stressed I didn’t send her to school today. They can’t get over the way the police shot him and the way he fell down. He’s a heart patient and a diabetic, but I know there wasn’t much option.”
Rehman’s father Abdul Rehman, 81, the trustee of an Islamic centre in Kilburn, said: “The police don’t give a damn. If someone steals money, the police should punish them. But they haven’t taken any action.”
A police source said officers had investigated Rehman’s allegations of fraud, but the case was closed due to lack of evidence and he was advised to pursue it as a civil matter.
On Monday, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that Rehman needed a psychiatric assessment after a document compiled by a mental health nurse raised concerns.
Rehham is charged with two counts of possessing a bladed weapon in public and one of affray.
He was remanded in custody and will appear in court on Tuesday. The solicitor did not respond to phone calls on Monday. - Daily Mail