Former Chancellor George Osborne was left ‘shocked and stunned’ after narrowly escaping a prolific gang of moped robbers responsible for more than 100 raids across London, a court heard.
The 18-year-old ringleader Claude Parkinson and two other teenagers aged 15 and 16 stole high-value mobile phones to order across central London between April 18 and May 5 this year.
The trio from Islington, north London, admitted stealing 103 phones over an 18-day period across Westminster, Islington, Camden and Chelsea at Southwark Crown court earlier this year.
Evening Standard editor Mr Osborne said in a victim impact statement how the raiders made a grab at his mobile as he left the BBC’s Broadcasting House in central London on May 4.
George Osborne (pictured left) narrowly escaped falling prey to one of London’s most prolific moped gangs as he left Broadcasting House on May 4. Claude Parkinson (pictured right) and two others, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been convicted of conspiracy to rob
The 46-year-old said: ‘After the incident three or four members of the public approached me and asked if I was alright.
‘I was physically unharmed but felt shocked and stunned.
‘The incident happened so quickly that I barely registered what had happened until afterwards.
‘The scooter was so close that it almost brushed past me.
‘Had it hit me, I have no doubt I would have been seriously injured.’
The gang leader and one of his associates also admitted breaching a criminal behaviour order at Southwark Crown Court.
The trio are believed to be one of the most notorious gangs operating in the capital, responsible for 83 moped robbery and snatch offences out of the overall 212 reported between April 18 and May 5.
Arming themselves with a hammer and tyre-iron, the thugs would look out for pedestrians texting or making calls before mounting the pavement and either snatching the handsets or using the weapons to threaten the owners into handing them over.
Mr Osborne, 46, was leaving the BBC’s Broadcasting House in central London when the gang ‘brushed past him’ on their scooters
Dramatic photos displayed in court show them roaring through streets with one raising a hammer above his head as they sped towards passers-by.
Samsul Chowdhury, 40, of Tower Hamlets, east London, who gave the gang a list of phones he wanted including what he would pay for them before flogging them overseas, admitted handling stolen goods.
Prosecuting, Paul Fairley said: ‘Recently, the UK – and London in particular – has seen a huge increase in what is termed ‘moped enabled crime’ – robberies and thefts for, in the main, mobile phones.
‘At the height of the period covering this indictment, the police team covering Westminster were seeing in excess of 100 such offences per week.
‘The premise is simple. Obtain a stolen moped, or steal it for yourself.
‘Dress up in motorcycle clothing which has the effect of providing a very effective disguise.
‘Arm yourself if necessary and then drive about looking for mobile phones to steal.
‘They are easy to find, they are expensive and the sell-on price for the thief is significant.
‘They are in plain view and there for the taking – loosely in the hands of the many members of the public who walk along looking down at them – completely unaware of who might be waiting to pounce, driving up on to the pavements, coming alongside the victim, snatching the phones and then driving away.
‘These offences are difficult to detect.
‘Mopeds are highly manoeuvrable and are able to get away quickly, using routes which cars cannot follow.
‘If CCTV footage is obtained, the riders are anonymous and so, as long as not detained at the scene of the crime, the chances of escaping detection are high.
‘The offending rate was so high precisely because of the rewards available, and because there was a ready market.
‘In this case, that market came in the guise of Samsul Chowdhury.’
It is not known how long the married father-of-two handled stolen phones.
The trio, all of Islington, north London, were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court (pictured)
But after he became notorious for it, it was not long until the former Asda worker was inundated by messages from members of London’s criminal youth network.
The court heard that he ’employed a work ethic that in proper circumstances would be an impressive thing’.
When he was arrested on May 26 and his home searched, police found 35 phones, several laptops and other stolen items – some of which had come from two residential burglaries committed a week earlier.
Exchanges between one of the youngsters and Chowdhury show that contact was being made, negotiations conducted, bartering over price and the phones delivered to him within an hour of committing the robberies.
Interrogations of Chowdhury’s account books noted ‘pages and pages of carefully documented phones, prices the total of which runs into many thousands of pounds’.
Over a 42-day period between April 5 and May 17 there were 327 items with a total value of £52,150.
Mr Fairley revealed Parkinson was always the rider of the lead moped and was present on all five days of the robbery spree, while the other youngsters accepted involvement between April 21 and May 4.
He said that in the vast majority of offences no further violence was used after the snatch until the final day when they ‘upped the ante and armed themselves’ on May 4.
London Evening Standard editor Mr Osborne had people rush up to him after the incident outside BBC headquarters
Mr Fairley continued: ‘This time, the group made an unwitting but ultimately disastrous mistake.
‘As they drove past the BBC building in Westminster, they happened to pass in front of a BBC cameraman Ian Lawrence, who was standing holding a long lens camera whist waiting for a taxi.
‘He realised what was happening and started taking pictures.’
The court heard that despite the distance, the images were so detailed they helped police trace Parkinson after officers were able to recognise his eyes through the visor, his bitten fingernails and distinctive clothing.
Describing the ringleader, victim Frederick Frank: ‘The single rider snatched my phone in his left hand, calmly finding the power button and switching the phone off before accelerating off.
‘The twin riders behind him were whooping with joy.
‘They seemed like new recruits being shown the ropes by a modern day Artful Dodger.’
The court heard all three youngsters have previous convictions going back to their early teens for offences including theft and driving offences.
Judge David Tomlinson adjourned passing sentence until October 11.
Parkinson, of Thornhill Square, Islington, Chowdhury, of Usk Street, Bethnal Green, and the two youths were remanded in custody to return to Southwark Crown Court next week.