Defiant Charles and Camilla: we won't be cowed
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have made it clear they will not be cowed by last week's attack by rioters.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall's evening of Royal Variety entertainment was marred when their Rolls-Royce limousine was attacked by a protester Photo: AP Photo/Matt Dunham
The Sunday Telegraph understands that the royal couple want to carry on with "business as usual". Although they found the assault intimidating, they will not be scaling back their public engagements or abandoning walkabouts.
A royal aide said both the Prince and the Duchess would remain as "visible" as ever during public engagements.
"Their default position is to get out there and get on with the job. It is absolutely business as usual.
"The Prince will leave it up to the security people to make sure that they are secure and the public are secure wherever they go, but they will crack on," the aide said.
The Sunday Telegraph can also report that:
* Sources close to Buckingham Palace hope the violence will see off plans to scale back police protection for members of the Royal family.
* An internal Metropolitan Police report has highlighted the red tape that hinders preparations for public demonstrations.
* Police leaders are calling on the Government to consider making water cannon available for future protests.
Officers yesterday issued photographs of 14 individuals from last Thursday's protests, some of whom were wanted in connection with the attack on the royal convoy in Regent Street.
Royal sources said the couple maintained full confidence in the ability of the police to bring those responsible for the attack to justice.
They also insisted that the couple remained "extremely supportive" of their police protection officers, and blamed the incident on the rioters, and not the police.
The Prince is said to be awaiting the results of an inquiry by Scotland Yard before making any further decisions about his security.
There has been speculation that the Prince may have overruled his security staff concerning the route taken to the Royal Variety Performance, but this newspaper understands that he accepted decisions made by his security team.
Scotland Yard earlier this year suggested cutting millions of pounds from the budget for protecting the Royal family, but last week's attack is likely to be used as leverage by those opposed to the cuts.
A source close to Buckingham Palace said: "We were very concerned about the proposals to cut back on protection. If one good thing comes out of this ghastly incident, let it be that those proposals are dropped."
The Sunday Telegraph can also disclose that police tackling public disorder are facing an unwieldy bureaucracy involving committees of senior officers, community liaison teams and lawyers. An internal report, distributed the day before the protests, exposes how the Metropolitan Police's specialist CO11 Public Order team is mired in red tape.
The document, written by Lynne Owens, an assistant Met commissioner, highlights how at least nine separate commands within the police service have to give their views when planning how to deal with any potential disorder.
Police leaders have urged the authorities to consider making water cannon available for the first time on the British mainland.
One senior source at the Police Federation said the rioting in central London would have come to a much earlier conclusion if protesters had been given a "good soaking".
Julie Spence, a former chief constable, agreed that the use of water cannon should be part of any public order review.
Paul Davies, who heads the Police Federation's operational policing committee, said the measure "would certainly be controversial but it comes back to protecting members of the public and allowing police officers to do their jobs".
Questions remain about why the royal couple were driven to the Royal Variety Performance in a conspicuous, 20ft-long limousine.
A senior security source said: "We may make recommendations for the future that will say 'safety first' and in these situations use a more manoeuvrable, more secure car."
The route taken by the royal convoy was checked by motorcycle outriders for an hour before the Prince and the Duchess left Clarence House, the source said. But once the route had been decided there was a period of "minutes" when the riders returned to Clarence House to collect the convoy, meaning no officers were keeping tabs on developments in Regent Street.
Alan Johnson, the former home secretary, yesterday told BBC Radio 4 he was "amazed" by yesterday's report in The Daily Telegraph that protection officers guarding the royal couple were using radios on a different channel from those dealing with the student riots.
"In my experience they are really meticulous about ensuring that the route ahead is well known and that they avoid these kinds of incidents," he added.
The Sunday Telegraph can also report that:
* Sources close to Buckingham Palace hope the violence will see off plans to scale back police protection for members of the Royal family.
* An internal Metropolitan Police report has highlighted the red tape that hinders preparations for public demonstrations.
* Police leaders are calling on the Government to consider making water cannon available for future protests.
Officers yesterday issued photographs of 14 individuals from last Thursday's protests, some of whom were wanted in connection with the attack on the royal convoy in Regent Street.
Royal sources said the couple maintained full confidence in the ability of the police to bring those responsible for the attack to justice.
They also insisted that the couple remained "extremely supportive" of their police protection officers, and blamed the incident on the rioters, and not the police.
The Prince is said to be awaiting the results of an inquiry by Scotland Yard before making any further decisions about his security.
There has been speculation that the Prince may have overruled his security staff concerning the route taken to the Royal Variety Performance, but this newspaper understands that he accepted decisions made by his security team.
Scotland Yard earlier this year suggested cutting millions of pounds from the budget for protecting the Royal family, but last week's attack is likely to be used as leverage by those opposed to the cuts.
A source close to Buckingham Palace said: "We were very concerned about the proposals to cut back on protection. If one good thing comes out of this ghastly incident, let it be that those proposals are dropped."
The Sunday Telegraph can also disclose that police tackling public disorder are facing an unwieldy bureaucracy involving committees of senior officers, community liaison teams and lawyers. An internal report, distributed the day before the protests, exposes how the Metropolitan Police's specialist CO11 Public Order team is mired in red tape.
The document, written by Lynne Owens, an assistant Met commissioner, highlights how at least nine separate commands within the police service have to give their views when planning how to deal with any potential disorder.
Police leaders have urged the authorities to consider making water cannon available for the first time on the British mainland.
One senior source at the Police Federation said the rioting in central London would have come to a much earlier conclusion if protesters had been given a "good soaking".
Julie Spence, a former chief constable, agreed that the use of water cannon should be part of any public order review.
Paul Davies, who heads the Police Federation's operational policing committee, said the measure "would certainly be controversial but it comes back to protecting members of the public and allowing police officers to do their jobs".
Questions remain about why the royal couple were driven to the Royal Variety Performance in a conspicuous, 20ft-long limousine.
A senior security source said: "We may make recommendations for the future that will say 'safety first' and in these situations use a more manoeuvrable, more secure car."
The route taken by the royal convoy was checked by motorcycle outriders for an hour before the Prince and the Duchess left Clarence House, the source said. But once the route had been decided there was a period of "minutes" when the riders returned to Clarence House to collect the convoy, meaning no officers were keeping tabs on developments in Regent Street.
Alan Johnson, the former home secretary, yesterday told BBC Radio 4 he was "amazed" by yesterday's report in The Daily Telegraph that protection officers guarding the royal couple were using radios on a different channel from those dealing with the student riots.
"In my experience they are really meticulous about ensuring that the route ahead is well known and that they avoid these kinds of incidents," he added.
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