Student protester 'made contact' with Camilla during attack

Published on Sunday 12 December 2010 18:10

ONE of the mob that attacked Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall's car during the tuition fee protests "made contact" with the duchess, Home Secretary Theresa May has confirmed.

But she refused to say whether the duchess was poked with a stick pushed through the window of the car on Thursday evening.

The Home Secretary also hinted that the Prince of Wales may abandon his historic Rolls-Royce in the wake of the attack.

Mrs May suggested the Phantom VI might not be "appropriate" for transporting the prince and his wife.

Asked to confirm that the duchess had been jabbed in the ribs with a stick by one of the protesters, the Cabinet minister replied: "I am not sure about the term poked with a stick. I understand there was contact made. This is an incident that needs to be looked at by the Metropolitan Police."

The comments came as the inquest continued into the violent demonstrations over rises in university charges that rocked central London last week. Amid reports that Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson offered to resign after the chaotic scenes, Mrs May insisted she had not considered falling on her sword.

She also defended the "robust" police response to the disorder that saw dozens of officers and protesters injured, and more than 30 arrests made.

"What is absolutely crucial is that for those who did inflict criminal damage, for those who were breaking the law, that they should now feel the full force of the law on them," Mrs May said.

She refused to speculate on whether crowd control tactics such as water cannon could be used to deal with such protests in future.

"The Met Police obviously have to look at how they should be dealing with these demonstrations," she said. "They will look across the board and they will be making operational decisions."

The Home Secretary rejected concerns that coalition spending cuts were hitting royal protection, saying the arrangements were "reviewed regularly" and would be looked at again in light of the assault on Prince Charles and the duchess.

She also raised doubts about the future of the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI. The car was a gift from the Car Association to the Queen in her Silver Jubilee year of 1977, but there has been criticism that it is too distinctive and not secure enough for regular use. One of the windows was smashed during the attack.