'Stupid and reckless blunder' which left Camilla cowering on car floor after being hit with stick by anarchist mob
By Stephen Wright, Tim Shipman and Fay Schlesinger
Last updated at 10:36 AM on 12th December 2010
Breakdown in police communication blamed for security breach
The Duchess of Cornwall was jabbed in the ribs with a stick through an open car window as she and Prince Charles were surrounded by a baying mob in the worst royal security breach in a generation.
The full extent of the 'stupid and reckless' blunder which left Camilla, 63, cowering on the floor of the royal Rolls-Royce became clear last night as MPs called for a full inquiry.
It is believed the royal couple were driven blindly into the violent mob because of a breakdown in police communications.
Sources said the Duchess, who has not made a formal complaint to police, was 'very scared' when a yob leaned into the car and prodded her with the stick.
Terrified: Camilla screams in fear as the Rolls-Royce is attacked on its way to the Royal Variety Performance
Assault: Prince Charles holds Camilla's hand as they run the gauntlet of a baying mob in Regent Street
Unbowed: Prince Charles at Clarence House today handing out medals to the Commando Helicopter Force
One of the car's rear windows was opened in error as rioters chanted 'off with their heads' and 'Tory scum'.
The Duchess, 63, was said to be recovering well from her ordeal yesterday - but questions were mounting for Scotland Yard, over why the couple were 'sitting ducks' for the mob.
A senior government source said: 'It is completely ridiculous that they were driving there at that time in a vintage Rolls-Royce.'
More...
- Cenotaph hooligan is son of Pink Floyd star: Cambridge history student in riot outrage claims he didn't know what memorial stood for
- Student has emergency brain surgery after 'being beaten around the head with police truncheon' during protest
- Nick Clegg faces revolt over leadership after failing to secure even a quarter of his own backbenchers
Amid reports that armed officers were 'seconds' from pulling out their weapons, Met chief Sir Paul Stephenson said: 'The officers who were protecting their Royal Highnesses showed very real restraint - some of those officers were armed.
'Their priority was to get that car to the point of safety, which was the venue, and that was achieved, but it was a hugely shocking incident.'
Charles and Camilla's car was surrounded as it drove down Regent Street in London's West End to a Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, with protesters kicking the doors and shattering a rear window.
At one point it was rocked and hit with paint bombs.
Witness Gordon Spurs, 26, said: 'The Rolls-Royce took a real pasting. It was terrifying to watch - the crowd were baying for blood.'
A senior police source told the Mail: 'It was stupid to allow Charles and Camilla into that area in such a distinctive car, and then simply reckless to drive them through that mob of thugs.'
A yob attacks the car as Camilla stares at him in horror. Up to 20 demonstrators took part in the violence
The Met Commissioner today promised there would be a 'full and thorough' investigation into the lapse
NEW BLUNDER FOR ARISTOCRAT ROYAL PROTECTION COMMANDER
The security blunder that led to rioters attacking Charles and Camilla's car is not the first lapse under the watch of the current head of Royal protection.
Aristocrat Commander Peter Loughborough, 52, (pictured below) came under serious fire after Aaron Barschak gatecrashed Prince William's 21st birthday party in 2003.
His job was thought to be at risk after the incident which came just seven months after he was chosen to head the Royalty Protection Department.
In an earlier lapse, when Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace in 1982, his predecessor Commander Michael Trestrail lost his post.
But father-of-four Commander Loughborough, whose real name is Peter St Clair-Erskine and is the seventh Earl of Rosslyn, survived the 2003 incident.
There was another blunder when a Fathers 4 Justice campaigner dressed as Batman staged a protest on the Buckingham Palace balcony but again, he clung on.
He is now billed as the Queen's favourite policeman and was last year handed the Queen's Police Medal for 'services to policing'.
Commander Loughborough was handed the job because he is deemed to have the social skills to move in aristocratic circles.
Educated at Eton and Bristol University, his privileged background is highly unusual for a police officer. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1980 on the recommendation of a cousin in the force.
In his down time, he is a Crossbencher in the House of Lords - where he survived the cull of hereditary members by the Labour government. The Royalty Protection Department is made up of more than 400 officers, each vetted and recommended for the job.
Last night one report said Prince Charles asked to travel down Regent Street after a discussion with his protection officers - although sources stressed it was a matter for police to decide the exact route.
Another report said officers guarding Charles and Camilla were using radios on a different channel from those patrolling the riots, meaning they received no warning that protesters were blocking their path.
Despite the seriousness of the case, sources close to Sir Paul said he had no plans to order an independent inquiry, nor would he offer to quit over the fiasco.
Astonishingly, one police official said an initial internal review of the Regent Street incident had not highlighted any major problems.
Sir Paul said: 'That was a very shocking incident and hugely regrettable. Their Royal Highnesses ought to be commended for their fortitude.'
Asked whether the car should have travelled the route, he said: 'That route was thoroughly recced in advance including several minutes beforehand when it was still clear.'
Prime Minister David Cameron issued an unusually critical statement, branding the attack 'a very regrettable lapse of security'.
He blamed the 'people who tried to smash up that car' but made clear that 'lessons must be learned'.
'The scenes people saw on their TV screens were completely unacceptable,' he said. 'I don't think we can go on saying a small minority were there.
'There were quite a lot of people who were hell-bent on violence and destroying property.
'I want to make sure they feel the full force of the law.'
London Mayor Boris Johnson told the Mail the inquiry into the fiasco would be overseen by the force's watchdog, the Metropolitan Police Authority.
A Clarence House spokesman said diplomatically: 'Their Royal Highnesses understand the difficulties police face and are always grateful to them for the job they do in challenging circumstances.'
But MPs demanded a full independent inquiry.
Patrick Mercer, former chairman of the counter-terrorism committee, said police had left the Royal couple as 'sitting ducks'.
He said: 'Yesterday was only sticks and stones but next time it could be bullets and bombs and that must never happen.'
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary should investigate.
He said: 'As with the G20 protests, internal inquiries will not satisfy the public.'
Former shadow home secretary David Davis added: 'The situation requires someone from outside the Met to investigate.'
Prince Charles said last night his wife was 'fine' and 'dealing with' the attack.
The Rolls Royce Phantom VI with a smashed window outside the London Palladium
A yob's handprint seen on the passenger side window of the Royal's car
Minute by minute, how the ordeal unfolded for the royal couple
By MICHAEL SEAMARK and STEPHEN WRIGHT
Even without the benefit of hindsight, anyone with an iota of common sense might have spotted the potential danger.
With protesters marauding through London's streets, officers responsible for royal protection decided to drive the future King and his wife, in a Rolls-Royce with extra-large windows, straight into the path of an angry mob.
So grave was the security risk that armed officers were seconds away from drawing their weapons as the baying crowd, chanting 'Off with their heads', surged around the vehicle.
Senior police sources expressed astonishment that the couple were chauffeur-driven into what was effectively a war zone.
The finger of blame was being firmly pointed at the man regarded as the Queen's favourite policeman, Commander Peter (Lord) Loughborough.
Defiled: The statues of two of Britain's greatest premiers, Lord Palmerston, left, who was in power almost continuously from 1807 until his death in 1865, and Churchill were targeted by the student demonstrators
Disrespect: Charlie Gilmour, son of Pink Floyd guitarist David, swinging from the Cenotaph
Riot police came under attack from flares as they clashed with protestors in Parliament Square
The Old Etonian head of royal protection has already endured two highly embarrassing security lapses, when an intruder dressed as Osama Bin Laden gatecrashed Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle and a Fathers 4 Justice campaigner dressed as Batman staged a protest on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Cdr Loughborough faced difficult questions from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson yesterday over the gravest breach of royal security for decades.
Clarence House insists that neither its staff nor Charles or Camilla has any say in royal protection matters and someone might have suggested a more manoeuvrable, armour-plated, bullet-proof - and much less visible - Daimler more appropriate for the five-minute journey, given the day of mass student demonstrations paralysing parts of the capital.
According to a royal source, however, 'Charles may well have said "poppycock" to any suggestion that plans should be changed because of the riots.'
The couple's ordeal began as their claret Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, escorted by police motor-cycle outriders, swung around Piccadilly Circus into Regent Street.
In the front seat was their armed police bodyguard, Inspector Bob Fulton, who has been with Charles since the Nineties.
He and the back-up protection team in a vehicle behind were all carrying Glock pistols.
Under the festive lights, the pavements were thronged with crowds taking advantage of Thursday's late-night Christmas shopping hours.
But several hundred yards ahead a marauding mob had taken to the street looking for trouble and the royal convoy drove straight into an ambush.
Dramatic mobile-phone video footage shot by passers-by recorded the terrifying change of mood as Charles and Camilla headed north.
With the Rolls forced to slow down as it approached the mob, the atmosphere initially appeared good-natured as the crowds - attracted by the high-profile convoy - realised who was in the limousine.
One man shouted to a smiling Prince of Wales: 'All right Charles, how you doing mate?' through the open rear passenger window of the royal car.
Then, with the prince's long-serving head driver Tim Williams forced to slow down to a crawl, an angry mob surged towards the vehicle and Charles and Camilla became sitting ducks.
Bags of rubbish, traffic cones and plastic barriers from nearby roadworks were hurled at the car, which was eventually halted by a large black bin thrown under the front bumper.
Blaze: A demonstrator adds to a bonfire as it burns in Parliament Square
A police officer covered in paint after being attacked by protesters
With the Rolls cut off by the crowds from the royal protection vehicle, a lone policewoman desperately attempted to clear the baying thugs, many with faces covered by balaclavas and scarves, intent on attack.
Amid the sound of breaking glass a passerby who realised the growing danger shouted to Charles: 'Put the window up, put the window up!'
The mob, banging on the other windows and kicking the doors, began chanting: 'Off with their heads, off with their heads,' and 'Tory scum'.
Others shouted 'Our streets, our streets,' and swore 'Your government f***** us!'
Bewilderment turned to fear inside the vehicle as Camilla was heard screaming and she gripped Charles's hand.
With missiles bouncing off the car, the duchess, terrified for her safety, crouched down in the footwell.
Witness Matthew Maclachlan said: 'We couldn't believe it. The car had really big windows so Charles was very much on display.
'People were trying to talk to him about tuition fees at first but when more people realised what was happening, the crowds swelled and people were throwing glass bottles and picking up litter bins and throwing them at the car.'
Route to mayhem: 1 - Hundred-strong mob which had earlier run from police in Leicester Square roams Regent Street. 2 - Violence sparks as Royal car is bombarded and road is blocked with debris at junction of Vigo Street. 3 - Motorcade crawls north under constant attack ignoring chance to turn down New Burlington Street. 4 - Outside Hamley's, can of white paint thrown against limousine. 5 - Police motorcycle outriders finally beat passage through protesters
For Camilla, perhaps the most terrifying moment came when one thug managed to reach deep inside the Rolls and push a stick into her ribs.
In the panic, one window was apparently opened by mistake as the mob closed in and a police source said the duchess was 'very scared' when the yob leaned into the car.
She is laughing about it now but everyone was rather shaken.'
Gordon Spurs, 26, who works in a clothes shop nearby, said: 'The crowd were baying for blood.
'At one point there were 40 or 50 protesters chasing the car up towards Argyll Street. It was completely out of control.'
One Yard officer, after watching CCTV videos of the near catastrophe, said: 'The car could and should have turned left or right down a side road, or pulled up while urgent police back-up was sought.
'Instead it was a "rabbit in the headlights" moment and they made the wrong call.
'By driving into a hostile crowd, Charles and Camilla were placed in extraordinary danger.'
As the Rolls drove past Hamley's toy store, it was spattered by a can of white paint and a passenger window was smashed but police reinforcements eventually arrived.
Other royal protection officers waiting outside the Palladium raced around the corner and then ran alongside the Rolls until it pulled up at the entrance to the theatre.
At the end of the show Camilla insisted she was fine and light-heartedly remarked: 'There's a first time for everything.'
The royal couple left in the back of a blacked-out police van. If only they had arrived in one.
Explore more:
- People:
- Boris Johnson,
- David Cameron,
- Paul Stephenson,
- Keith Vaz,
- David Davis,
- Osama Bin Laden
- Places:
- London,
- Wales,
- Buckingham Palace
- Organisations:
- House of Lords,
- Scotland Yard,
- Bristol University,
- Home Affairs Select Committee
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337478/ROYAL-CAR-ATTACK-Blunder-left-Camilla-cowering-hit-stick-protestors.html#ixzz17wO3hdv3
No comments:
Post a Comment