Friday 10 December 2010

Whose bright idea was it to take the Roller?

A car containing Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, was attacked last night as a wave of protest swept through central London in the wake of a Commons vote to force through a trebling of university tuition fees for students in England. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of the royals and I wouldn't wish such a terrifying experience on anybody but talk about a red rag to a bull. And now we're told that whoever was responsible, it certainly wasn't the police.  So who was it who decided to let the heir to the throne and his wife drive through the west end of London in a ceremonial Rolls-Royce when there were still thousands of protesters on the streets, following the biggest and bloodiest demonstration the capital has seen for thirty years?  The general public?  I think not.

Did the police seriously think this enormous car could go unnoticed up Regent Street or were they hoping it would be allowed to glide respectfully through the protesters? Are Charles and Camilla so removed from reality that they thought people would just move to one side? I suspect the anarchists amongst the crowd couldn't believe their luck! 

Meanwhile, the Met unveiled its secret weapon during Operation Dogs Dinner