An asylum seeker has been jailed after leaving a fake stick of dynamite outside the MI5 headquarters.
Brazilian national Julian Valente Pereira, 32, received a two and a half year sentence for the bomb hoax.
The stunt, which occurred on January 1 at Thames House in Millbank, took place just a day after his final appeal for asylum was dismissed.
Appearing in February at City of London Magistrates' Court, the Brazilian was found guilty of placing an article with the intention of inducing another to believe it would explode.
After examination, officials revealed the device was made from rolled-up A4 paper, brown masking tape and string.
CCTV footage appeared to show Pereira forcing immigration paperwork through the doors of the London building.
He then can be seen throwing the fake dynamite, which he pulled out from a bag he was carrying.
Pereira was rejected for asylum in Britain after arriving in July 2018, nearly eight years after entering the UK with a work permit.
He now "may well" be deported from the UK, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said during sentencing at the Old Bailey.
Prosecutor Shannon Revel linked the stunt to the failed asylum bid, claiming the man wanted to show "maximum attention" on his complaints against the Home Office.
Pereira has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, the court was told.
He was living in an asylum hotel in Uxbridge.
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The judge confirmed that police believed the device was a "genuine explosive".
He added that resources were "diverted from other things".
The incident coincided with a New Year's Day parade in London.
The Metropolitan Police deploys around 3,000 to 3,300 dedicated officers on the streets the night before for the ticketed New Year's Eve fireworks display.
A similar presence remains active through New Year's Day to transition onto the parade route.
The MI5 building, situated on the North Bank of the River Thames, next to Lambeth Bridge, was originally built in the late 1920s as offices for Imperial Chemical Industries.
MI5 has occupied the entire building complex since 1994.
The building, which has been occupied by MI5 since 1994, is heavily fortified with blast-proof glass and vehicle barriers, and it features a protected dock inside for river access.
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