Army probes how dummy bomb breached security
Army probes how dummy bomb breached security
Britain ordered an inquiry on Thursday into how ajournalist carrying a dummy bomb breached security to enter the
military academy where Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry is
studying.
The Sun newspaper said an undercover reporter posing as a student
wandered unchallenged for seven hours around the prestigious Royal
Military Academy Sandhurst where Harry began his army training in May.
"I have demanded an immediate investigation into this serious security
breach," Defence Secretary John Reid said in a statement. "I have
instructed Sandhurst to change their procedures to prevent a
recurrence."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said a review was under way and that
changes would be made to security at the base.
The prince, younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana,
is being trained as an officer cadet and will be eligible for service
after the 44-week course ends.
The reporter photographed documents detailing the 20-year-old prince's
routine and filmed him with students at the base in Berkshire, 30
miles (48 km) west of London.
The newspaper printed a grainy front-page picture of the prince
wearing a beret and carrying a rifle.
The unnamed reporter said he gained access to the base by contacting
its librarian. The academy's library is open to the public by
appointment, the paper said.
The reporter said once he had entered the base he made a fake bomb
with wires and a clock before filming himself holding it outside a
college building.
He said he was finally challenged by a soldier seven hours after he
arrived as he walked through an accommodation area. The reporter said
he answered some questions before driving off.
The incident was the latest in a series of high-profile breaches in
royal security.
In April, a journalist drove a package into the heart of Windsor
Castle before Prince Charles' marriage to Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Last year a man tricked his way into Windsor Castle by posing as a
policeman, and in 2003 a comedian gate-crashed the 21st birthday party
of Charles's older son Prince William.
Security at many public buildings in Britain was increased after the
September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, and police chiefs
said they feared bombings were inevitable.
