The Crown Fools

No respect ... cops accused of sitting on Queen's throne

REX

Court is rocked

JUDGE Geoffrey Rivlin QC chided barrister John Cooper yesterday for leaving the Southwark Crown Court jury "on the edge of their seats", writes James Clench from Court One.

Just before lunch, he had promised allegations about royal cops when the hearing resumed.

And the defence lawyer certainly delivered.

Eyebrows were raised around the court as he spoke of porn deals in the police locker room at Buckingham Palace.

And there was a collective intake of breath and laughter as he calmly grilled a sergeant about sitting on the Queen's throne.

The exchanges contained drama and humour that would have done credit to TV legal series Rumpole Of The Bailey.

ROYAL Protection cops snapped each other sitting on the Queen's throne at Buckingham Palace and making thumbs-up gestures, a court was told yesterday.

'On throne' ... Sgt Adam McGregor

Former SO14 officer Sergeant Adam McGregor admitted in a sensational exchange it was "something to tell the grandkids".

He was even asked: "Did you wear a crown yourself?"

The bombshell came amid sensational accusations levelled at the elite unit by the defence in the £3million fraud trial of ex-Royal Protection cop Paul Page, 37. 
 

Disrespected ... Her Majesty

CAMERA PRESS

John Cooper, defending Page at Southwark Crown Court in South London, listed allegations of "gross breach of duty". He claimed:

ARMED cops regularly fell asleep while on duty.

TRUSTED officers allowed "uninvited and unvetted" guests into royal garden parties and provided car parking on royal property to unauthorised visitors.

A DRUNK cop was given a firearm, while others routinely slept off hangovers in private Palace rooms

HARDCORE porn and illegal steroid drugs were traded in the SO14 locker room.

MARKED police cars were used to ferry gifts and large sums of cash made from spread betting.

Palace ... cop guards accused

Mr Cooper claimed SO14's "general attitude and culture was to break the rules and take risks".
And he asked Sgt McGregor: "Would you consider it serious if a police officer serving in Royal Protection got access to the thrones of the Queen and Prince Philip, sat on them with their feet up, putting their thumbs up in a comical pose and having their photographs taken?

"Would that be a bad thing? That's what you've done, isn't it?"

Sgt McGregor replied: "I may have sat on one of the thrones, but I don't recall any comical poses.

"Sitting on the Queen's throne is perhaps something to say you've done in your life to tell your grandkids about."

When asked if he considered it "disrespectful", he replied: "It's not an ideal scenario."

Pressed further, Sgt McGregor said: "I possibly could have had a photograph taken sitting on the royal throne." Mr Cooper quipped: "Did you wear a crown?"

The exchanges sparked laughter - including from defendant Page, who left the Royal Protection service last year, and his wife Laura, 42, who faces charges with him. 
 

On trial ... former cop Paul Page with wife Laura at court

Mr Cooper put to Sgt McGregor: "We suggest you are a man who takes risks - sitting on a throne, having photographs taken and making lots of money."

The officer, who is said to have poured £150,000 into Page's alleged investment scam, admitted he had fallen asleep at Buckingham Palace.

He said: "I was on my post and unfortunately, in the middle of the night, I fell asleep."

He went on: "You sat in a box for 12 hours at Buckingham Palace. On cold nights there was a radiator there and unfortunately I nodded off."

Mr Cooper outlined a "ring-around" system, in which firearms cops slept while colleagues in a control room kept an eye on supervisors who might catch them out.
 
He said: "While they were supposed to be vigilant with weapons, they slept, and other officers looked out for them."

Sgt McGregor agreed cops tipped each other off about approaching supervisors, but denied it was to ensure they were awake.

He also accepted he escorted a car containing money made from spread betting - but said it happened in a ten-minute refreshment break.

He denied having been drunk on duty and claims that officers slept off their headaches in private areas.

Mr Cooper went on: "Are you aware that officers would arrive for duty and be handed firearms?" Sgt McGregor said he was not.

And he denied knowledge of trading in steroids or porn and of letting unauthorised people into royal property.

He also said he was unaware of a cop being threatened with a beating before he was transferred over a failed money-making scheme.

The court heard Sgt McGregor, now on other Met Police duties, was found to have lied to JPs in a court in 1995.

Page, of Chafford Hundred, near Grays, Essex, is said to have told investors that money they gave him was to develop property. But he lost most of it on spread betting and a lavish lifestyle.
 
He is charged with fraudulent trading, witness intimidation, threatening to take revenge and making a threat to kill.

His wife is accused of dealing with criminal property, witness intimidation and a threat to kill.

They deny all charges.

The case continues.

By JAMES CLENCH

Published: 22 Apr 2009