Queen’s chauffeur ‘abused boy in his Palace quarters’

A CHAUFFEUR to the Queen is said to have sexually abused two boys – one in his Buckingham Palace quarters – but died days before he could be charged with the historical offences.

Alwyn Stockdale, 81, was interviewed in June over attacks on a ten-year- old boy and a boy under 14 in the 1970s.

He was due to be charged with indecently assaulting one boy and three offences of gross indecency on the other after police took 19 months to trace and interview him.

The retired driver died of natural causes in hospital last week. Prosecutors had told police to charge Stockdale.

A source said: ‘The victims are understandably upset that Stockdale will not face justice. They’ve lived with what he did all their adult lives.

‘There are questions over why it took so long for police to identify and get round to questioning Stockdale.

‘Given his age, it was a race against time to bring him to justice. But like Jimmy Savile and the MP Cyril Smith, he died before that could happen.’ The alleged victim, a man now in his 50s, told police he had been assaulted when he was ten.

Detectives probing high-profile historical child sex abuse claims received the report in November 2016 but did not interview Stockdale until this year.

Stockdale lived in Royal Household quarters at Buckingham Palace Mews at the time of the alleged offences, according to The Sun, and later lived in a cottage on the Windsor estate.

He is said to have attacked one of the boys at the West Yorkshire home of a relative, who was also a royal servant but unaware of the incident.

The Metropolitan Police said: ‘In November 2016 the Metropolitan Police received a historical allegation of gross indecency and indecent assault, alleged to have occurred in the 1970s at addresses in London and West Yorkshire.

‘The allegations were investigated by officers from Operation Winter Key and after extensive research, a suspect,

‘Why did police take so long’

aged in his 80s was identified. He was interviewed in June 2018. A file was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service in August. The man interviewed under caution has now died.’

The CPS said: ‘Following a Metropolitan Police investigation into allegations of nonrecent sexual abuse, the CPS authorised four charges against a suspect aged in his 80s. The suspect has since died and therefore no prosecution can take place.’

Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.