A Dartford father and son appeared in court via videolink today (June 4), in connection with the Hatton Garden jewellery heist.
Brian Reader, 76, and Paul Reader, 50, both of Dartford Road, were videolinked from HMP Belmarsh at a preliminary hearing at Southwark Crown Court.
They appeared with seven other men who are all charged with conspiracy to burgle between April 1-7.
The nine, who have a combined age of 532, are all also charged with conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert or transfer criminal property, namely a quantity of jewellery and other items, between April 1 and May 19.
Brian Reader
After a 15 minute wait for the videolink to connect properly, defendent Terry Perkins, 67, asked the clerk: "Can you ask the judge and yourselves to come down to Belmarsh so we can have tea together?"
Brian and Paul Reader were arrested by Met Police on Tuesday, May 19 and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, May 21.
The next hearing date was set for September 4.
The scene on Dartford Road, following Reader and Reader's arrests
The Easter bank holiday raid saw thieves break into the vault at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company in London's jewellery quarter.
Officers believe they got into the building, which houses a number of businesses, through a communal entrance before disabling the lift so they could climb down the shaft to the basement.
It is thought that they then forced open shutter doors and used a drill to bore a hole 20 inches deep, 10 inches high and 18 inches into the vault wall.
Once inside, the thieves ransacked 73 safety deposit boxes, taking up to £200million worth of items.
After facing criticism for the way the incident was handled, the Met Police apologised for not following procedures when receiving a call from a security firm about an intruder alert at the premises at midnight on Good Friday.
But Flying Squad detectives rejected the suggestion that they were bungling "Keystone Cops".
The other seven men in court are: Terry Perkins, 67, Daniel Jones, 58, and Hugh Doyle, 48, all of Enfield, north London; William Lincoln, 59, of Bethnal Green, east London; and John Collins, 74, of Islington, north London; Carl Wood, 58, of Elderbeck Close, Cheshunt, Herts; and taxi driver John Harbinson, 42, from Benfleet in Essex.
All nine have been remanded in custody.
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