Police won't investigate Prince Andrew over alleged gate ramming
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Version 0 of 1. Police have refused to investigate a formal report lodged by an anti-monarchy campaign against Prince Andrew over alleged criminal damage to gates in Windsor Great Park. The sensor-operated gates had to be repaired after the prince allegedly forced them open in his Range Rover on Sunday evening to avoid taking a one-mile detour to his home. Buckingham Palace and the Crown Estate, which runs Windsor Great Park, declined to comment. On Wednesday, in response to a call for the prince to be prosecuted, Thames Valley police suggested to the Guardian that they could not investigate the alleged incident as it had not been reported. On Thursday morning, Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, the campaign for an elected head of state, lodged a formal report with the police about the incident. Smith said: “I expect the police to deal with this matter just as they would if the suspect were another person.” But the Thames Valley force said Smith’s report lacked details. A spokeswoman said: “An alleged criminal damage was reported this morning. But the caller had no details of the alleged incident other than it was in Windsor on Sunday. The caller was advised that a person involved in the alleged incident or someone acting on their behalf would need to report this. Police are not normally contacted for damage-only road traffic collisions and we can’t see anything on the log about this.” Smith accused the police of giving preferential treatment to the prince. “The police response is absurd. There is enough information in the public domain to investigate. They appear to be doing all they can to avoid launching a proper investigation. “I cannot believe an ordinary member of the public would not be prosecuted for deliberately damaging these gates with their car. This is a matter of principle: will the royals be treated the same as the rest of us or is there a different law for them?” Smith said the Crown Estate had to explain why it hadn’t reported the incident. “They are a nationally owned property portfolio that raises revenue for the taxpayer. They have a duty to protect their assets and to be open and honest with the press. “If Prince Andrew wasn’t responsible then why the silence from the palace and the estate? Clearly this needs to be investigated properly.” On Wednesday, a park worker told the Sun that the gates and Prince Andrew’s car were damaged in the incident. “For some reason the sensors didn’t work. Instead of going a mile out of his way, he just decided to ram it open,” the worker told the paper. The prince is known to use the route through the gates as a shortcut to the Royal Lodge, the Queen Mother’s former home, which was given to him by the Queen in 2003. |