Minister’s fear as guns taken off his guards
DEFENCE Secretary Ben Wallace is challenging a Home Office decision to force ministerial and royal bodyguards to swap their guns for Tasers – despite last year approving the move.
The U-turn comes days after Mr Wallace’s close protection officers arrived for duty without their firearms, the result of a policy he signed off while Security Minister.
The Mail on Sunday understands he has sought reassurances about the wisdom of the new rules from Home Secretary Priti Patel, who is herself set to lose armed guards.
Under new guidelines for VIP security, only Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the most senior members of the Royal Family will get armed protection. Other Cabinet Ministers and Royals, including Princess Anne and Prince Edward, will be shadowed by police carrying Tasers unless they are subject to a specific threat.
‘Taking pistols from officers on routine VIP protection duties is a very risky move,’ said a police source. ‘Tasers have a limited range of five metres and often they don’t even affect the target. Stripping us of our guns puts us and those we protect in greater danger.’
The Met’s Royal and VIP Executive Committee has designed a seven-grade system to assess risk with only those deemed five or above assigned a firearms team. Mr Wallace is concerned about whether the system is flexible enough to deal with sudden changes to the threat level.
The measures are part of efforts by the Metropolitan Police to save money.
The Home Office declined to comment, saying it did not provide detailed information on security arrangements for protected individuals.