QUEEN TERROR BOMBSHELL: How money-grabbing chauffeur sold out her Majesty
By Mazher Mahmood, 23/05/2009
TODAY we expose an outrageous Buckingham Palace security breach-set up by a Lithuanian HOOKER-that could have put the Queen at the mercy of terrorists.
Money-grabbing chauffeur takes our undercover man into Palace
THE WAY IN: Where chauffeur met our reporters
On Friday two undercover News of the World reporters were given access to Her Majesty's fleet of limos inside the palace grounds by the prostitute's boyfriend - grasping royal chauffeur Brian Sirjusingh.
He has now been suspended pending an investigation by palace officials.
READ: ROYAL CHAUFFEUR SUSPENDED
The driver BETRAYED his Queen for just £1,000 as he sneaked our men-both Asian-past security without even searching them. Then he encouraged them to look around and even SIT INSIDE the cars used by the royal family.
He had no idea of their identities or motives-only that his hooker girlfriend Victoria Voronova-with whom he romps in his Royal Mews flat-had met the men who were willing to pay him to do it.
Bomb
TERROR RISK: Our man in the Queen's seat
"That's where the Queen sits," Sirjusingh bragged to one of our reporters, ushering him into the royal back seat of a Bentley often used by Her Majesty.
He then WANDERED AWAY giving our men plenty of time to either slip a small bomb or tracking device in a gap beneath the seat.
READ: IT'S VICE QUEEN VICTORIA
Buckingham Palace officials are now investigating the security breach. A spokeswoman for the palace said: "Any security matter is taken very seriously and we will look into these allegations."
Sirjusingh, 38, claims to have driven the Queen himself, although the News of the World understands that has not happened yet. But he was happy to let our investigators PHOTOGRAPH and VIDEO the vehicles including a Rolls Royce, a Daimler and a Jaguar.
He even let them take snaps of the NUMBER PLATES and revealed TOP SECRET CODENAMES for two of her main cars used by drivers and royal protection officers. And he told our reporters-both using fake IDs- about SECURITY WEAKNESSES inside the cars and Her Majesty's PRIVATE TRAVEL PLANS for the weekend.
READ: 'HEAD'S MUST ROLL'- ROBERT JOBSON
Shameful Sirjusingh's breathtaking betrayal will rock the Royal Protection Squad and increase fears for the Queen's safety at a time when security around her is believed to be at Level 2-the second highest-because of the raised threat from al-Qaeda terrorists.
NO SECURITY: As Sirjusingh opens gate to our men
All prospective royal staff now undergo "positive vetting"-research on their background as well as checks by police and MI5 to establish criminal convictions or terrorist links.
Even members of the Windsor family, including the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles, have to show photographic ID each time they enter a royal residence.
Yet all our men needed to slip through the royal security net was the help of a £200-an-hour Eastern European prostitute . . . with a lover close to the Queen's daily routine.
Voronova, 21, set up what could have been a potential terrorist plot when she introduced us to Sirjusingh-whose relationship with her makes him a prime target for blackmail. And he was only too pleased to help.
TERROR TARGET: The Queen with Prince Philip stepping out of the same Bentley which Sirjusingh showed to our man
At 12.10pm on Friday Brian sent our reporters a text, saying: "Hello this is Brian at the Royal Mews just give me a quick call when u get here I will be at the gate."
Our men, posing as curious Middle Eastern businessmen, met him shortly before 1pm on Friday at the entrance of the Royal Mews on Buckingham Palace Road. Standing behind the imposing iron gates dressed in his smart chauffeur's uniform, he smiled as he opened them to let our men in. He was clutching his mobile phone and explained: "I was talking to my wife." When asked if that was Victoria-he replied: "It's a little bit complicated. I think you understand what I mean!"
Sirjusingh, originally from Trinidad, led our men right past a uniformed police officer sitting in a small security booth. They were taken straight past two large signs reading 'STOP security measures in progress' and 'Have your personal card/ ID ready please'.
Chauffeur Sirjusingh sets up meeting with text
They were not stopped even though the Queen was in residence.
First port of call was the royal courtyard where the driver proudly pointed out his apartment before boasting that he was at the Queen's "beck and call". The former military man bragged he underwent a year training to prepare him for his job.
Eager to impress, Sirjusingh- whose spoken English is poor-said: "I'm what they call a first chauffeur which means there is the head chauffeur, deputy chauffeur then meself. There's six of us in total. Obviously all of us are ex-military."
He bragged of his army career in the Royal Logistics Corps and claimed he had spent four years working for the Duke and Duchess of Kent. "There's something called the RLC, which is Royal Logistics. It takes about a year to train to get up to the level even to be considered, anti-kidnapping and anti-hijack and all the rest of it. So it's a long process. I did four years with the Duke and Duchess of Kent which allowed me to kinda come in here."
The route our man took
By now our men were at the royal stables where the horses and ceremonial carriages are kept. Sirjusingh opened a wooden door off the courtyard which led to the large royal garage and an impressive line-up of luxury vehicles.
First he let our reporters into a burgundy coloured Bentley. "These is the only two cars existing in the world like that," he said. Pointing to two Bentleys used by the Queen for Royal duties, he said: "This one you cannot buy, there's not a price on this." He then revealed the cars' security codenames.
Unbelievably, he threw open the back door of Her Majesty's car and invited our man to jump in. "That's where she sits," he confirmed.
CASHING IN: Sirjusingh takes £1,000 from our man
Then, like a car salesman, Sirjusingh showed off a Rolls Royce with a high roof, adding: "There is about eight or nine of this one in the world." He then let our men produce cameras and snap the vehicles before showing off another burgundy Bentley with extra large windows and a raised roof-built for the Queen to use on public engagements. Sirjusingh said: "It's especially to accommodate if she goes in and out with a hat.
"These as well would never be built for anybody else except Her Royal Highness. So this is the only place you're going to see this."
When one of our reporters asked about security measures incorporated into the Royal vehicles, Sirjusingh revealed sensitive information about the vehicles' vulnerable points -which we will not be revealing.
He then strolled towards the other end of the garage and showed us Princess Anne's green Bentley saloon. "This is Her Royal Highness Princess Anne's personal car," he announced as our man opened the door to have a look inside.
This was a particularly shocking breach given that Anne was targeted in London by would-be kidnappers while in her car in March 1974. The vehicle was forced to stop as she returned from a public engagement. That incident led to a major overhaul of royal travel security.
Greedy
But any concern for the safety of his employers was the last thing on Sirjusingh's greedy mind.
The final vehicle on Sirjusingh's shameful tour was the Queen's personal car-a green Daimler with an ordinary 2005 number plate.
"It's a supercharged V8 but it was built to suit the Queen. She drives. Sometimes she says 'leave me alone' and she goes away," said Sirjusingh before insultingly discussing personal details of his employer. "She's got slightly short legs so the floor has been raised to suit her. It's tailor made for her. She only uses it because it's British and she got it at a discounted rate."
Sirjusingh was also happy to gossip about Camilla. "She's OK, despite what people say. She gets a bad press," he confided.
Then he showed off the ceremonial carriages, including one he claimed had been used for Charles and Diana's wedding.
Surjusingh also offered to moonlight for our men and whined about his wages. "If you ever looking for a part-time chauffeur let me know," he told us. "Quite a few evenings I'm free. But you just can't go and tell Dick, Tom and Fred I work for so and so. It's security. I have to say the pay is not so great."
The tour complete, Surjusingh stood by the main gate-in full view of the security booth-where he greedily pocketed a white envelope containing £1,000 in crisp £20 notes.
Then our team strolled back out of Buckingham Palace, yet again unchallenged, with an ease which those on MI5's most wanted list would take chilling advantage of.
The News of the World says...
OUR exposé of Buckingham Palace security is breathtaking. There is little point having hi-tech checkpoints at the front door if a spiv chauffeur with a hooker mistress can let in anyone through the side gate.
We could have been al-Qaeda; we could have had a bomb or at the very least a tracking device. We learned about the Queen's movements and chinks in the armour of her cars. We sat where she sits. All for £1,000.
How many times must the univited gain access, and how many more botched 'reviews' must there be, before we are confronted with a tragedy of monumental proportions?
Her Majesty has been royally let down by 'experts' specifically tasked with protecting her. She - and the country - deserve better.