Hit on Queen hushed up

AN ex-cop has sensationally claimed a teenager came incredibly close to assassinating the Queen during a 1981 visit to New Zealand – and the Government tried to cover it up.

At the age of 17, Christopher John Lewis, from Dunedin, joined cheering crowds to watch the monarch pass through during a diplomatic trip, Britain’s The Sun reported.

Armed with a .22 rifle, he shot at the Queen (pictured) as she stepped out of her RollsRoyce. Despite a loud bang, the crowd were seemingly unaware of what had happened.

The parade, incredibly, continued as normal, and cops launched a cover-up to conceal just how serious the event could have been.

Former Dunedin police officer Tom Lewis worked on the case, and said: “You will never get a true file on that.”

Mr Lewis said the Government feared the royals would not come back to New Zealand if they found out just how close the Queen had come to being assassinated.

He also said Mr Lewis’ original statement was destroyed, and police decided to not charge the man because of orders from “up top”.

In 1997, Mr Lewis took his own life.