A Kurdish burglar is accused of attempting to break into the home of Labour peer Luciana Berger and stealing £350 worth of family possessions.

Sarbast Lokman, 34, faces burglary, theft, and attempted burglary charges after he allegedly went to the politician's London property twice in two days in April.

The City of London Magistrates' Court heard that Lokman tried to enter the home through the back door on April 11 but after discovering it was locked he stole items from the back garden. 

He is said to have returned to the property the following day where he reportedly broke into a car outside Baroness Berger's home, before stealing items valued at £350.

This included a pair of designer Marc Jacobs sunglasses, two pairs of children's wellington boots and one adult pair, a first aid kit, an emergency blanket, a green picnic blanket, and tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt belonging to a child.

Lokman is also accused of stealing a gift-wrapped Neom candle, a bottle of car fluid, and some loose change from the car.

Baroness Berger told the City of London Magistrates' Court she felt 'targeted' after the incidents due to her high profile standing in the Jewish community and as a peer and former MP.

The politician, 45, was the MP for Liverpool Wavertree between 2010 and 2019, and held shadow ministerial roles for climate change, public health, and mental health under the leaderships of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.

But she quit the Labour Party in February 2019 in protest at Corbyn's leadership, and denounced the party as 'institutionally antisemitic'.

Baroness Berger then joined the short-lived breakaway party Change UK and later went on to compete as a Liberal Democrat for the Finchley and Golders Green constituencies at the 2019 election - where she finished second. 

After leaving parliament, she returned to Labour in February 2023 under Sir Keir Starmer's leadership and, in December 2024, it was announced she would enter the House of Lords as a life peer, with the title Baroness Berger, of Barnhill in the London Borough of Brent.

Lokman, who faces an additional allegation of attempting to burgle a home in Enfield, north London, in March, was due to stand trial on Thursday, having previously denied all the charges.

But his case had to be adjourned until July 6 when it was discovered that a Kurdish interpreter had not been booked for the trial, and efforts by court staff to scour London for an available interpreter to come to court at the last minute failed.

District Judge Annabel Pilling conveyed the news of the adjournment to Lokman by typing out an apology and explanation on her tablet. She then ran the message through Google Translate, and showed him the screen.

Lokman, who told the court he is currently homeless but previously had an address in North Finchley, north London, denies burglary, two charges of attempted burglary, and theft from a motor vehicle.

He has been remanded in custody to await his trial since the first court appearance in May.