Overview

• Spencer Duarte, 29, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court for snatching former Clinton climate adviser Brian de Clare’s phone on Aug. 7, 2024, near St Paul’s.
• CCTV captures show City workers twice knocking the e‑bike rider off his bike, during which he left behind a trainer and a rucksack.
• Forensic analysis of the trainer produced a match on the national DNA database, enabling officers to identify and charge Duarte.
• Prosecutors said his rucksack contained kitchen foil used to block tracking, and court records note seven convictions for 29 theft and dishonesty offences.
• Duarte pleaded guilty in June and told probation he was stealing to repay a £460 cannabis debt, as police point to high rates of phone theft across London.