Queen hit by shock security blunder after imposter allowed into barracks just yards from Windsor Castle & STAYS night

0
66

A STALKER claiming to be a priest was allowed into barracks by Royal Guardsman protecting the Queen in an astonishing security blunder, HOAR can reveal.

Soldiers at Victoria Barracks, just yards from Windsor Castle, were approached at the gate by a man claiming to be a priest and a friend of the padre to the Coldstream Guards at the base.

Windsor castle suffered a huge security breach on Wednesday
The Queen returned to Windsor Castle just a couple of hours after he was removed
The Queen inspects the Coldstream Guards at Windsor Castle in 2012

The stalker came to the gate claiming to be a priest

Without showing any identification or credentials, he was allowed in and spent the night eating and drinking in the Officer’s Mess.

The imposter spent the night drinking with senior officers while spinning stories of how he had served in Iraq.

Read more on The Queen

He was then offered a bed for the night.

Sources said the alarm was finally raised in the morning after he had been given breakfast.

Police were called and he was found to be a “fantastist” and escorted from the premises.

Last night the Ministry of Defence was conducting an urgent investigation into the appalling security breach which allowed the stalker to be present for nearly 16 hours.  

The Queen – who had spent Easter at Sandringham – returned to Windsor Castle just a couple of hours after he was removed.

Last night a source said: “This is just an extraordinary breach of security.

“The guy turned up at the gate in the evening and said his name was Father Cruise and claimed to be a friend of the battalion’s Padre Rev Matt Coles.  

“He was invited in and offered something to eat in the Officer’s Mess.

‘DRINKING WITH THE OFFICERS’

“Within a couple of hours, he was drinking with the officers in the bar and telling them stories of how he had served in Iraq.

“He was telling lots of tall stories and the lads were enjoying his banter and having a few drinks.

“It was only later in the evening when he started talking about how he had worked as an ejector-seat test pilot and had donated some of his organs that the chaps started to get suspicious.

“But in any event he was allowed a bed for the night.

“Checks were made in the morning and it was apparent this guy wasn’t a bona fide priest and the police were called.”

Sources told TalkTV the man was known to police locally as a man suffering from mental health issues. He was not arrested.

Last night the Ministry of Defence was urgently trying to establish how the breach occurred.

‘THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED’

An Army spokesperson said: “The Army takes this breach of security extremely seriously and it will be thoroughly investigated as a matter of priority.

“This incident is now part of an ongoing investigation and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “We received a report of an intruder at Victoria Barracks in Sheet Street, Windsor, at 9.20am on Wednesday.

“Officers attended and removed the intruder from the barracks. No further action was required.”

Victoria Barracks is just 250 metres from Windsor Castle.

The Coldstream Guards  are based there to protect Her Majesty and carry out ceremonial duties.

They have previously played a key role in Prince Phillip’s funeral and the Queen’s Jubilee.

In December a security alert was raised after a man armed with a crossbow was seen trying to scale the walls of Windsor Castle.

Read More on HOAR

‘LIKE FLATMATES’

Helen Flanagan reveals she hasn’t shared bed with fiance Scott for 7 YEARS

TROUBLE & STRIFE

Daughter who battered own mum at her wedding with stiletto avoids jail

A video clip was later uncovered by HOAR showing a masked figure holding a crossbow, saying they would “attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family” in a “revenge” mission.

It also referred to the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, or Massacre of Amritsar, when British troops opened fire on a large crowd of unarmed Indians in an open space known as the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in the Punjab region of India.

The security breach comes just weeks before the Queen’s Jubilee
Members of the public are allowed to visit the Queen’s second home