- Security bosses have withdrawn Royal Guards from posts outside palaces amid fears of a 'lone wolf' terror attack
- Elite soldiers of the Queen's Guard no longer allowed on sentry duty alone and are accompanied by armed police
- But the measures have been described as a ‘retreat’ for the Guards, known the world over for their bearskin caps
- Changes confirmed at sites including Clarence House, St James’s Palace, Windsor Castle and Horse Guards Parade
Security chiefs have taken the dramatic step of withdrawing Royal Guards from their high-profile posts outside palaces amid mounting fears of ‘lone wolf’ terrorist attacks.
Elite soldiers of the Queen’s Guard have pulled back from public positions at many landmarks in response to possible threats from Islamic extremists.
For the first time since the height of the IRA’s terror campaign, the soldiers are also no longer allowed on sentry duty alone, and are now accompanied by armed police.
The move to more secure positions behind gates or railings is a direct response to attacks such as the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby and the killing of a sentry by a lone gunman at the Canadian Parliament two months ago.
But the measures have been described as a ‘retreat’ for the Guards, known the world over for their bearskin caps.
Retired officer Major Iain Dalzel-Job of the Scots Guards told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I think this is a big shame.
'The reason people know we’re around is because they can see us. But I suppose the changes are necessary as there is a significant threat.’
This newspaper has confirmed the changes to the Guards’ security at sites including Clarence House, St James’s Palace, Windsor Castle and Horse Guards Parade.
At Clarence House, the official residence of Prince Charles, the guardsmen who used to stand in front of the gates on The Mall, a public road, have now been relocated, along with their sentry boxes, behind metal gates.
Tourists, who love to pose with the Guards, can now barely see them. Police officers confirmed changes had been made for security reasons.
At St James’s Palace, the London home of Princess Anne and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, two Guardsmen used to perform sentry duties beneath its famous clock tower on Pall Mall.
These guards and their sentry boxes have now been moved into a secluded courtyard inside the perimeter, leaving no visible presence at the clock tower gate.
In Horse Guards Parade, two sentries still stand guard where tourists can pose for photographs with them. But four armed police officers now guard the soldiers.
The officers carry Heckler and Koch carbine rifles, pistols and Taser guns – in contrast to the Guards, who just carry ceremonial swords.
A Metropolitan Police officer on duty there told our reporter: ‘Yes, we are a recent addition here. It’s us guarding the Guards. I think there’s a Latin phrase for that.’
At Windsor Castle, up to three armed officers now stand next to the lone sentry on guard duty on the Western side of the castle.
The tightening of security to levels unseen since the height of the IRA terror campaign comes in the wake of fanatics from the so-called Islamic State based in Iraq and Syria threatening Britain.
Al-Qaeda groups have also called on would-be terrorists to launch ‘lone wolf’ attacks against UK soldiers and police.
On Christmas Eve, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) encouraged Muslims to launch attacks in the West on their own.
It published a magazine that gave instructions for a home-made bomb, and urged its readers to use such a device to blow up an airliner or other Western target.
Former soldiers said last night that the changes were needed as sentries felt vulnerable to attack.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2888716/Retreating-Queen-s-Guard-End-era-palace-sentries-fall-face-mounting-fears-new-lone-wolf-terrorist-attack.html
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