A man accused of a plot to kidnap a coroner told police he was part of a group carrying out a "warrant" to "condemn these unlawful buildings that are causing harm to the people", a court heard.

Sean Harper, 38, told officers in interview that he was a “student” of Mark Christopher who he described as a “very knowledgeable man”.

He said Christopher was the “chief federal postal court judge” of the “federal postal court”, in the police interview, which was read to jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday.

Mark Christopher, 58, of Forest Gate, east London; Matthew Martin, 47, of Plaistow, east London; Shiza Harper, 45, of South Benfleet, Essex; and Sean Harper, also of South Benfleet, are all on trial and all deny conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

The court was previously told that the group of four defendants had gone to the coroner’s court in Chelmsford on April 20 2023 in search of Essex senior coroner Lincoln Brookes.

Mr Brookes was not at the court at the time.

Sean Harper was interviewed at Southend Police Station later on April 20 2023 after his arrest that day.

He said that the coroner was “running unlawfully” and it was “up to the people now to start stepping up and correcting your wrongs”, the court heard.

Harper said: “The warrant that was issued was to go down and condemn these unlawful buildings that are causing harm to the people.”

He continued: “These people are running private racketeering and things like that.”

Harper said in police interview that the “police were cc’d and notified of what we were doing”, later adding: “We wanted to make sure the police was involved – we’re not a rogue organisation.”

He said there was “no intention of any type of violence, threats or anything, it was all out of the goodness of caring and wanting to make a change”.

He said he did not regularly have handcuffs, and added when questioned: “If someone was trying to lay hands on me or the judge (Christopher), they may need restraining yes.”

In a video of her police interview that was played in court, Sean Harper’s wife Shiza Harper said she went to the coroner’s court as a “postal inspector/auditor”.

She said she was there to “serve a warrant on Lincoln Brookes as the coroner”.

Christopher also denies sending threatening letters to Mr Brookes with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

Martin denies assault by beating of security guard Eammon McCormack on April 20 2023, and the criminal damage of his spectacles.

The trial continues.