A man who created “intricate graffiti art” outside the US Embassy as a “present” has refuted allegations of issuing a false bomb threat.

Daniel Parmenter, a 44-year-old residing with his mother in Bayswater, west London, placed an assortment of items, including an iPad with firework wires secured with tape, on the morning of November 22, 2024, as revealed during proceedings at the Old Bailey.

Following this, the embassy was placed under lockdown while bomb disposal specialists conducted a controlled detonation.

Mr. Parmenter acknowledged his involvement in leaving the items but rejected the claim that it constituted a bomb hoax.

During the prosecution’s opening statement, Lucy Organ recounted how Mr. Parmenter had left a package in an alleyway adjacent to the embassy in Nine Elms, southwest London, early that morning.

At 08:30 GMT, a security guard at the US Embassy noticed what she believed resembled a bomb and became alarmed.

She captured a photo of the items and hurried back to the embassy to alert others.

An officer stationed at the embassy, upon viewing the photo, proceeded to the alleyway where he discovered a drum, several photo frames, and a large metal tray adorned with writing and a skull and crossbones, the jurors were informed.

Ms. Organ stated: “Lying next to all this against the wall was what seemed to be an IED [improvised explosive device] – an older iPad with a keyboard and firework wires meticulously taped.”

In response, a cordon was set up, local streets were closed, and the US embassy initiated lockdown procedures.

Three bomb disposal technicians arrived and executed a controlled explosion.

Among the items Mr. Parmenter left were a piece of paper labeled “Danger Chemicals,” a silver baking tray featuring a skull and crossbones with the inscription “Warning Hazard,” as well as a drum and drumsticks.

The court also heard about a poetry book encased in a frame, along with a red picture frame filled with tools and a first aid kit.

Additionally, a box of dates was found marked for the US Navy, with a notice that read “do not x-ray, please inspect. Radiation. Hazard.”

Video surveillance ultimately led to Mr. Parmenter’s identification and arrest two days later.

He remarked to law enforcement, “I assume this is regarding the framed toolkit my dad created and I dropped off as a gift for the US Navy.”

He stressed that he intended no harm and described the act as “a form of somewhat sophisticated graffiti art that isn’t vandalism.”

Ms. Organ informed the jurors that the defendant did not contest leaving the items by the US Embassy’s perimeter wall.

She indicated that the trial’s focus would be on whether Mr. Parmenter intended for others to perceive the device as likely to explode or ignite, thereby posing a threat of personal injury or property damage.

The trial is ongoing.