London: The trial of a British royal
protection officer has exposed a culture of porn, gambling and
alcohol inside Buckingham Palace, a latest news report said on Saturday.
Paul Page, who was in the elite SO14 royal protection
squad, faces a long sentence after he was found guilty of a
multi-million-pound fraud.
The 38-year-old officer told the jury at Southwark crown
court that the officers of SO14 were looked down upon by the
royal family. His other evidence during the trial revealed a
culture of downtime, gambling and drunkenness among royal
protection officers at the palace, the Evening Standard
newspaper said.
"There was an officer and he did sell porn. He used to
get it from Holland, bring it back and sell it to officers
while on duty. Everyone knew about it but no one would say
anything," he was quoted as saying by the British daily.
"You had officers running poker games for money in
downtime. If people want to do that that`s fair enough, but
senior officers let it go," he said, adding "Officers would
turn up drunk". He said officers in the command are earning
50-60,000 pounds per year with overtime "for doing very
little".
Page was convicted of fraudulent trading after a
three-month trial that exposed the extraordinary on-duty
behaviour of royal protection officers. According to courtroom
evidence, they posed for photos on the Queen`s throne,
indulged in a gambling and drinking culture, the report said.
However, Scotland Yard has ruled out a probe into
Page`s allegations, describing them as "unsubstantiated".
Bureau Report
