Palace missed simple clues in security scare

Buckingham Palace officials missed a string of clues in the security fiasco that led to a journalist getting a job as a footman.

They failed to notice that Ryan Parry had submitted a false description of his university degree, and at least one person he named as a job referee could not remember his having worked for the company.

The glaring mistakes emerge in a report by a senior judge which concludes that the Queen and the royal family were at risk from terrorist attack because of "weakness" in Palace security. The sixpage-report by Dame Elizabeth-Butler-Sloss goes out of its way to minimise the acute embarrassment for the royal household over the footman blunders, which allowed Parry to gain access to the Queen's private quarters last autumn on the eve of President Bush's state visit.

It concludes: "The main significance of the case is that it showed that existing procedures were not sufficient to expose fraudulent and dishonest job application.

"This weakness could be exploited by terrorists or others to endanger the Queen, her family and official guests and thus to endanger national security."

Home Secretary David Blunkettwas making a statement to Parliament welcoming the report's findings and accepting its key recommendation - that a director of security be appointed at Buckingham Palace to co-ordinate checks for all staff serving members of the royal family.

Dame Elizabeth says the most likely sources of "insider threat were not from terrorists but from journalists or individuals 'seeking to test' security measures or to cause embarrassment.

"But any weakness that can be exploited by these groups can also be exploited by terrorists."

She adds: "The security of the royal family is a matter of national security. There needs to be a more coherent personnel security approach covering all royal households, and not only permanent household-staff but also guests, visitorsand contracted staff." The report signals that, in future, MI5 and police will play a bigger role in scrutinising the backgrounds and lifestyles of job applicants using government data, the private sector and the security services.

The judge points out that the internet should also be used - with the report making clear that a simple search of the world-wide web would have revealed Parry's true intentions.

An annual security plan for the royal family will be set up between the Palace and the security forces, with the Home Secretary taking overall responsibility.