I want to see justice done, says officer praised for his honesty

AS A Royal Marine he fought for his country, as a policeman he pursued armed robbers, and as a Royal protection officer he secured Buckingham Palace against terrorist attacks.

Today, a man who served Queen and Country for more than 30 years has chosen to break the silence usually kept by members of the elite SO14 unit because he ‘just wants to see justice done’.

Like Prince Andrew, he served in the Falklands War in 1982. By then, he had completed two tours of Northern Ireland. In 1986, after 12 years as a Royal Marine commando, he was honourably discharged with ‘exemplary’ testimonials to his ‘honesty and above all loyalty’.

He joined the Metropolitan Police and, thanks to his firearms training, joined the first armed response vehicle to patrol London in search of IRA active service units.

After winning a bravery medal for helping to intercept three bank robbers, he was posted first to the Met’s Specialist Firearms Command (SO19) and then the Flying Squad (SO9).

In January 2000, he was picked for Royalty Protection (SO14) at Buckingham Palace. He was later described by Commander John Yates – who went on to become a Met Assistant Commissioner – as ‘in every sense an ideal role model for younger and older officers alike’.

The SO14 chief superintendent at the time, Peter Prentice, said he was ‘totally dedicated’ and ‘all that is best in the Metropolitan Police’.

While formally stationed at Buckingham Palace, he was also chosen to protect the

Queen when she took her summer break at Balmoral in Scotland. He retired from the police in December 2009.