COPENHAGEN — A Polish man has been found guilty of assault after punching Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

A court in the capital Copenhagen sentenced him to four months in jail, deportation and a ban on entering Denmark for five years.

The 39-year-old man, who has not been named, told the court on Tuesday that he had drunk too much to remember what happened.

Ms Frederiksen suffered minor injuries when she was punched on the shoulder during the encounter in a square in the city in June.

As well as the charge of violence against a public servant, the man was also found guilty on several counts of fraud and indecent exposure relating to other incidents.

After serving his jail term he will be deported. He will also have to pay the costs of the case.

Ms Frederiksen was not asked to appear as a witness in the trial.

The defendant had pleaded not guilty to the assault charge but guilty to some of the other charges.

He said he had been drinking too much to remember what happened and was having a "bad day" when he came face to face with Ms Frederiksen.

The prime minister suffered minor neck and shoulder injuries as a result of the attack, which took place just two days before elections to the European Parliament.

She said at the time she was "shaken" by the incident, but "fine", though she withdrew from the last day of election campaigning.

The 46-year-old is leader of the Social Democrats, the largest party in Denmark's ruling coalition, and became the country's youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019. — BBC