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By Daniel Jones
25 June 2006
DISGRACEFUL security lapses at Prince William's military
academy are
today exposed by The People.
Carrying a lifelike fakebomb, one of our reporters casually
strolled
into Wills's accommodation block - and put his feet up in
the
24-year-old prince's common room.
For four shocking hours, he was allowed to roam the grounds
and
buildings of world-famous Sandhurst without EVER being
challenged.
A real terrorist would have had countless chances to plant a
bomb that
could have killed and maimed scores of people - including
the man who
will one day be King.
The scandal is revealed less than two weeks before the
anniversary of
the 7/7 bond bombings - and amid fears that Al- Qaida is
planning
plan a new wave of attacks in Britain.
We linked up with former counterterrorism intelligence
officer Charles
Shoebridge to infiltrate Sandhurst - which William's
brother Harry has
just left - for an open day that attracted more than 3,000
visitors.
In a string of appalling security blunders, our
investigators: -
OPENLY sat in the grounds putting together the fake bomb'
STROLLED into William's New College quarters - where a
cadet opened a
door for them to get in'
CHECKED out the VIP podium and a postbox where lethal
explosives could
easily have been hidden' and
TOOK photos in areas which were supposed to be closed off as
part of a
£2million operation designed to protect William - a prime
target -
from international terrorists.
Mr Shoebridge said: "Sandhurst's worldwide reputation
makes it an
ideal terrorist target - especially with Prince William
there. Yet you
would not think this from the security we saw.
"If they had wanted to, then terrorists could have
caused havoc."
The disgraceful lapses began the moment our team arrived at
the
Berkshire military academy's Heritage Day.
Astonishingly, visitors did not have to book their places -
which
meant they could not be vetted in advance.
And guards did not even take their names as they entered,
Armed
soldiers and police at the main gate searched the bags of
people
arriving on foot.
But like scores of other people, our investigators drove to
Sandhurst
- and were waved through to a car park.
Once there, cadets made only a cursory search of the boot.
But they did NOT look inside the car.
And they did NOT carry out the widely used swab check -
which reveals
whether a person has been handling explosives.
Mr Shoebridge - himself a Sandhurst graduate - said:
"Of the ten cars
I watched being checked, no searches at all were made of
their
occupants or their bags or rucksacks, which could have been
packed
with explosives."
Our reporter made no attempt at secrecy as he made his
"bomb" based on
a design used by Al-Qaida - a mobile phone acting as a timer
wired to
a blob of Semtex.
We used lookalike Plasticine instead of the deadly high
explosive.
Our reporter put the device into a plastic lunch-box which
he carried
in a shoulder-bag - along with a dossier about Sandhurst and
a map of
the complex.
Amazingly, a passing soldier revealed where the Prince is
staying
while he is at Sandhurst. Mr Shoebridge - who worked in the
police and
army for 20 years - pointed out a working postbox made of
cast iron
next to the parade square at William's college.
He said: "Just a small bomb hidden in there would
shower deadly
shrapnel over any cadets parading here the following
morning. The
postbox should have been sealed for the Heritage Day."
New College, like most of Sandhurst's buildings, was
officially closed
to the public for the event.
But it was a doddle for our investigators to get inside.
Two ground-floor windows at the rear were UNLOCKED.
But our team did not have to climb in because a cadet
showing his
family round helpfully held open a door for them.
They were able to wander around the building - and even sat
in the
common room near William's personal quarters. A terrorist
could simply
have planted a bomb under a chair and detonated it at his
leisure.
Mr Shoebridge said: "Most of the ground-floor windows
were locked on a
hot summer's day - which suggests staff were aware that
someone might
attempt unauthorised access.
"Yet cadets did not seem to have been briefed about
the need to
identify and accompany strangers before allowing them in
through the
door."
Our investigators then checked out a podium used by VIPs for
the
finale of the open day - a march-past with a Gurkha band in
front of
the Mayor of Sandhurst Elizabeth North.
There was NO guard here in the runup to the parade. Mr
Shoebridge
said: "Had we used a timing device, we would have now
escaped and the
bomb would kill the VIPs, the bandmaster and several members
of the
public.
"If we were to trigger the bomb remotely as the band
passed close to
the podium, we would have killed several Gurkhas from the
band too."
There were also any number of chances to secrete bombs -
timed to
explode later - under unattended Army trucks and Land Rovers
at the
complex.
William joined the tough military academy in January for a
44-week
officer cadet course. Harry, 21, graduated from the college
in April,
a ceremony attended by the Queen and the rest of the Royal
Family. But
Sandhurst was considered a terrorist target even before
then.
During Muslim cleric Abu Hamza's trial in January, it was
revealed he
had detailed plans of Sandhurst which he said would be
"crucial to any
terrorist". The 47-year-old extremist was jailed for
seven years for
incitement to murder.
MI5 and the police warn that new Al-Qaida outrages in
Britain could
come within months.
Experts say they have foiled at least three attacks since
the 7/7
bombings.
Aspokesman for the Ministry of Defence said last night:
"We do not
discuss security matters. We are, however, satisfied that a
real bomb
would have been quickly identified and appropriate steps
taken."
- DO YOU know of a sandal? Call our newsdesk on 020 7293
3204.
- Voice of The People: Page 6 daniel.jones at people.co.uk
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