Downing Street burglar walks free

The burglar and his girlfriend entered Whitehall's Cabinet Office

A "prolific" burglar who triggered a major security alert when he tricked his way into Downing Street has been spared a prison sentence.

Obadian Marius, 45, from Stratford, east London, used his girlfriend's Lithuanian ID card to enter offices behind 9 Downing Street unchallenged.

Marius admitted last June's break-in and received an 18-month suspended sentence at Southwark Crown Court.

The incident led to a police review of access to Downing Street.

'Dishonest rogue'

Judge Christopher Hardy said Marius had a string of jail terms that began when he was a teenager.

"You now stand before this court today a dishonest and persistent rogue," he said.

The 5 June break-in was described as an "astonishing" lapse of security "at the heart of government" as Marius walked unchallenged through a door marked "ministers" and, accompanied by his partner, entered the Cabinet Office.

"They then went upstairs where there were a number of offices unmanned and nobody to be seen," prosecutor Isobel Ascherson told the court.

When eventually challenged by security, the pair immediately insisted that they were "looking for work".

The couple were searched, but the only thing that could have been mistaken for a pass was the Lithuanian ID card.

Marius also pleaded guilty to stealing laptops worth £4,500 belonging to judges at Snaresbrook Crown Court.