“The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of ‘other people’s money’.”
~attributed to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
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Tim Shipman and Gerri Peev
The Daily Mail [UK]
10th December 2010
• Prince’s Rolls Royce set upon on way to Palladium
• Camilla cowers in fear as car is hit with paint bombs
• Met chief hails armed officers ‘restraint’ during attack
• Scotland Yard to hold major inquiry into security lapse
• Cameron: Rioters must be arrested and punished
• Anarchists boast of success and plan more disruption
• Student has surgery for blood clot on brain after riot
Met chief Sir Paul Stephenson today mounted an extraordinary defence of armed protection officers after the worst Royal security blunder in a generation.
Sir Paul hailed the ‘enormous restraint’ of the team guarding Prince Charles and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, implying the rioters were lucky not to have been shot.
Camilla was left terrified as their Rolls Royce came under fire from a snarling mob of student fees rioters as it made its way to the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium.
The car was kicked, rocked and hit with paint bombs as up to 20 demonstrators attacked it and chanted ‘Off with their heads!’ and ‘Tory scum’, leaving the couple visibly shaken.
The Prince and Duchess were not hurt but the potential risk to their safety raised worrying echoes of the 1974 kidnap attempt on Princess Anne.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall under attack.
As serious questions were being asked about Royal security, Britain’s top policeman condemned the ‘hugely regrettable and shocking incident’ but insisted proper procedure was followed.
Sir Paul said: ‘I do think that the officers who were protecting their Royal Highnesses showed very real restraint – some of those officers were armed.
‘Their priority was to get that car to the point of safety, which was the venue, and that was achieved, but it was a hugely shocking incident and there will be a full criminal investigation into it.’
He insisted that the route was ‘thoroughly recced, including minutes beforehand. I think what you have to remember is the unpredictability of … these thugs, in the way in which they were moving around London.’…
…London mayor Boris Johnson hailed Charles and Camilla’s ‘great fortitude of spirit’ and called for an end to the violent tuition fee protests.
He said: ‘Clearly, it is very regrettable that in the heart of London, the heir to the throne can be surrounded by agitators and his wife can be put in a position where she’s plainly alarmed.’…
More…
- How did the anarchists get so close to Royals?
- Weakened Clegg appeals to Lib Dems to move on from tuition fees row
- PAUL HARRIS: The Cenotaph, Churchill… how young thugs broke every taboo
- QUENTIN LETTS: The Coalition survives the siege of Troy as tuition fees votes are passed
- DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Little honour in this ignoble compromise
The entire article, with video, is at the Daily Mail. Photos below are from the same article.
A student urinates on the base of a statue of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Oh! Is Charlie Gilmour protesting the increase in his tuition fees? Surely his father can afford $15,000 per year…
Charlie Gilmour, son of Pink Floyd guitarist David, disrespects the Cenotaph as he swings from a Union Jack flag in Whitehall, London, UK today as thousands of protesters gather about the education cuts.
Prepare, America, because this is coming once entitlements are cut or reduced if…when…we try to address our own economic crisis, as the British government is doing now:
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A British riot policeman is covered in paint during student demonstrations in London yesterday
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And now the clean-up: Council workers doe their best to make good the devastation left by the student protestors
Also, make time to read the comments section of the article if you can. People finally appear to be coming to their senses:
…It has completely angered me that they’d be so [disrespectful] to their own culture. If Churchill could see the ‘future of britain’ he’d probably be wondering why he bothered fighting for this country in the first place.
– Elsie, East Midlands
Update: At Founding Bloggers, If Progressives are so Advanced and Civilized, Why do They Riot When They do not Get Their Way?
One pillar of Progressivism, or as it is also referred to – Democratic Socialism, is the assumption that the educated class is superior to the average shlub on the street, and therefore they should be empowered to make decisions that have everyone’s best interests at heart…
Go to the site to watch the video.
