Barschak set off series of alarms

It was meant to be a night to remember for Prince William for all the right reasons. Instead, his 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle will be remembered as the setting for a potentially devastating breach of royal security.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens today spoke of his "shock and embarrassment" at the failures of his men which have led to a massive overhaul of security surrounding the royal family.

A series of lapses by Scotland Yard on the night of the fancy dress party are revealed in a damning 15-page report.

An inquiry by City of London police Commander Frank Armstrong details how intruder Aaron Barschak set off seven alarms during the night but police on duty failed to respond.

Self-styled comedy terrorist Barschak was wearing an Osama bin Laden wig and peach ballgown as he made his way over three walls to reach the party.

In the Waterloo Chamber with William's friends was virtually every senior member of the royal family.

Mr Armstrong said today: "Barschak activated a number of alarms in geographical sequence and is recorded on CCTV inside the castle as he made his way from his point of entry to the location of the party.

"There appears to have been no operational police response to these alarm activations or the CCTV recordings.

"There appears to have been no uniformed police presence deployed in the area where Barschak gained access. The situation was exacerbated by the blocking of an alarm and CCTV camera by contractors' vehicles. There appears to have been no police supervision of contractors.

"A patrolling officer in this area responding to the alarms and CCTV would have encountered Barschak and would have prevented his further intrusion."

The report centres on the performance of the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. It shows that members of the so-called elite squad missed a series of chances to arrest the gatecrasher.

Mr Armstrong, who used to head the protection team for Tony Blair, also severely criticises the planning of the Windsor Castle party. He concludes: "While a more robust pre-event planning stage would have been beneficial, the intrusion resulted not as a systems failure but as a failure to operate and maintain the systems."

Sir John, promising a major overhaul of royal security, said: "This should never have happened. It was deeply disturbing and a serious breach of security." Sir John said the fiasco occurred because of a "chain of events" involving officers failing to spot Barschak, alarms going off and not being noticed in the control room and officers failing to stop Barschak entering the party.

Sir John added that he welcomed a closer security role for the Army but dismissed reports that SAS officers would be involved.

Sir John said soldiers stationed at Windsor Castle for ceremonial duties will act as "extra eyes and ears".

Eight officers are facing disciplinary action which will be concluded in the autumn. They could be sacked, fined, demoted or warned about their future conduct.

Chief Inspector Mark Goddard, head of royalty protection at Windsor, has already been moved to other duties after requesting to go.

But Commander Peter Loughborough, in charge of the Royalty and Diplomatic Department, is unlikely to face criticism. He is not facing disciplinary action. Today Home Secretary David Blunkett backed the report. He said: "The main thrust of Commander Armstrong's report is that the security lapse was caused by operational errors on the part of the police.

"I am grateful for the Commissioner Sir John Stevens' recognition of that fact and for his resolve to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

"The Commissioner has assured me that significant lessons have been learned from this incident and that the important service that the police play in protecting the royal family will be further improved.

Disciplinary investigations are under way and the management of the policing arrangements at Windsor has changed at chief inspector level."

Mr Blunkett added: "Commander Armstrong's recommendations provide a sensible foundation on which to develop sound policies for enhanced protection in the future."

The report also revealed that there had been another similar security breach at St James's Palace six months previously. An intruder breached the perimeter but was caught and no further action was taken.

The breach exposed "similar deficiencies to the Windsor intrusion", the report said. The report also confirmed that the officer in charge of security on the night, chief inspector Mark Goddard, had left at nine o'clock. He has since been moved to another job.

The working conditions and resources in the police control room at Windsor Castle were described as "wholly inadequate". Supervision of the control room was also "inadequate" and there was no training or refresher training for staff in the control room.

The report said: "On 21 June there were numerous alarm activations between midday and midnight but the police resources levels at Windsor were insufficient to provide the necessary response."

The timings on CCTV recordings were also not synchronised and varied from real time, the report said. There was also an "over reliance on the physical security provided by the castle wall".

The report said: "There is currently a programme of security enhancements but little appears to have been done to prevent an intrusion in a style similar to that of Barschak's". It said there should be a review of the perimeter to identify vulnerable areas.

Tory shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin said: "This report makes disturbing reading."