Batman Protest Spotlights Palace Security

By PA News Reporters

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens will today closely scrutinise the report into yesterday’s embarrassing security breach at Buckingham Palace.

Fathers 4 Justice protester Jason Hatch, dressed as Batman, climbed over one of the palace walls and stood precariously on a ledge for more than five hours.

He was aided in his stunt to promote awareness of fathers’ right by Dave Pyke who was dressed as Batman’s sidekick Robin.

Both men were still being held in custody today in a central London police station, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said.

Sir John ordered the urgent review shortly after the incident and said he expected the report to be on his desk first thing this morning.

The Commissioner said that if Hatch had been carrying a bomb he would have been shot by armed police.

Last night Home Secretary David Blunkett defended police handling of the situation, insisting the police had taken the “entirely correct decision” in identifying Hatch as a protester and not a terrorist.

In a statement to the Commons Mr Blunkett said the Palace’s alarm and camera systems had worked and the police acted correctly in assessing the threat.

But Mr Blunkett told MPs the speed with which Hatch was able to scale the perimeter was of “concern”.

He went on to condemn the protest group, saying police had been diverted from protecting the public from terrorism.

Mr Blunkett said he hoped those involved would recognise it was not just themselves they put at risk.

Shadow home secretary David Davis condemned the intrusion as a “sorry business” and said it was the fifth or sixth breach of Royal security since June last year.

Hatch, 32, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, managed to position himself on the front of the historic building despite the presence of armed police guards.

He remained on the ledge 25ft above the ground to the right of the famous main balcony for more than five hours before being slowly lowered to the ground with two police officers in a cherry picker.

He was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and was examined at St Thomas’ Hospital, near Westminster, before being taken into custody.

Hatch and his sidekick Pyke placed a ladder against a wall of the palace as other protesters distracted the attention of police by climbing on the front gate.

Pyke, 48, also from Cheltenham, said he came down from the ladder after police threatened to shoot him and was amazed to find that no one apprehended him.

He was later led away by police and arrested in connection with the protest.

The latest royal security lapse is a severe embarrassment to police chiefs who were forced to step up surveillance at the Palace recently in the wake of a spate of problems.

Security was reviewed after Daily Mirror reporter Ryan Parry got a job at the Palace as a footman before a state visit by US President George Bush in November last year.

Stand-up comedian Aaron Barschak also highlighted lax security by gate-crashing Prince William’s 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle in June 2003.

It is understood that the Queen, who was enjoying her summer break at Balmoral in Scotland, had been kept informed. No other members of the royal family were in residence.

Hatch, a painter and decorator, has had problems with access to his son and daughter despite living just a a few minutes’ walk from their home.

Fathers 4 Justice are notorious for their high profile publicity stunts.

The demonstration was timed to coincide with the trial of one of two protesters who allegedly hurled condoms filled with purple flour at Prime Minister Tony Blair.

That protest halted Prime Minister’s Questions and sparked fears that the chamber was under biological attack.