Ioan Pintaru, 32, was charged with the attempted murder of the girl and possession of a bladed article in a public place, said in court to be a steak knife.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday morning wearing a grey prison-issue sweatshirt.

The court heard Pintaru is a Romanian citizen of no fixed address and the charges were read to him through an interpreter during the 10-minute hearing.

Pintaru was remanded in custody and will next appear at the Old Bailey on September 10.