London reporter poses as footman in palace
The London tabloid crowed that it had succeeded in penetrating the impenetrable wall of security around President Bush.
A Daily Mirror "undercover" reporter, posing as one of Buckingham Palace's liveried footmen, placed mints and fruit in the Bushes' bedroom just hours before the president and first lady turned in for the night Tuesday.
"Had I been a terrorist intent on assassinating the queen or President George Bush, I could have done so with absolute ease," wrote reporter/impostor Ryan Parry. "Such is the shocking incompetence at the heart of the biggest security operation ever in Britain."
Parry, wearing the long scarlet tunic and gold-trimmed top hat of a royal footman, apparently stood just yards from Bush on Tuesday night as the president and first lady were welcomed.
Yesterday morning, Parry had been scheduled to serve breakfast to Secretary of State Colin Powell and national-security adviser Condoleezza Rice, but by then he was the toast of the tabloids for his caper.
The official fallout was swift. In the House of Commons yesterday, lawmakers demanded an explanation of how the government could put 5,000 police officers on the streets and declare an air-exclusion zone over London to protect the president, yet allow a reporter to sneak into the bosom of Buckingham Palace.
The U.S. Secret Service, which wanted to install blast-proof windows and curtains in Bush's bedroom, was asking itself the same question.
The answer? Easy. Three months ago, Parry, 26, replied to a job posting on the Buckingham Palace Web site. On the application he gave two references — one real, one bogus. On the section that asked about employment history, he neglected to mention he was a journalist.
He got the job.
"Not once, from the moment I applied for my job as a footman to my walking out of the palace last night (Tuesday night), did anyone ever perform anything close to a rigorous security check on my background," Parry wrote. "Not once during the three-month operation did anyone ever search me or my bags as I came and went at Buckingham Palace."
Indeed, Parry wandered throughout the palace, snapping pictures. The Mirror illustrated its story with photos Parry reportedly took of the Belgian Suite, where Bush and his wife, Laura, are believed to be staying; the queen's breakfast table, complete with cornflakes and porridge laid out in Tupperware containers, and bedrooms said to belong to Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
"I could have poisoned the queen," screeched a headline of the Mirror's 16-page exclusive that was full of details about life inside the palace gleaned during Parry's two months on the job: the queen "prefers toast with light marmalade" for breakfast, while Princess Anne's fruit bowl "must always contain a very black banana and ripe kiwi fruit."
Home Secretary David Blunkett told Parliament a security commission would immediately review "all aspects of the process of checking those who form part of the royal household."
He said the employment checks on Parry were "insufficient" but appropriate criminal checks had been carried out.
Bush was informed of the breach yesterday. "We have every confidence in the British security," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said.
The Daily Mirror caper is the second major royal-security breach this year. In June, a comedian named Aaron Barschak, dressed in an Osama bin Laden costume, gate-crashed Windsor Castle during Prince William's 21st birthday party.
Mirror editor Piers Morgan was unapologetic. He said the paper used "very basic subterfuge and got incredible access."
A palace spokesman said it was considering legal action against the newspaper and its reporter.
Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.