Fears over royal security have emerged today as it was revealed a man convicted of five counts of sexual assault was invited to mingle with Kate Middleton, Prince William and other senior members of the royal family at the Thames procession during the Diamond Jubilee weekend.
52 year-old Harbinder Singh Rana was invited on board the 'Spirit of Chartwell', the centre piece of the 1000 strong flotilla at the weekend as a guest of Prince Charles. He met the Prince through his work with the Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail though royal aides were apparently unaware of Mr Rana's past.
He was allowed to get incredibly close to the Queen and other royals while on board the royal barge despite his serious convictions. In some shots he can be seen less than a few feet away from the royal party as they waived to crowds.
A spokesman for Clarence House told The Mirror: “The office of Prince Charles was unaware of his previous convictions.”
Steve McCabe, MP for Birmingham Selly Oak revealed his shock that such a person could have got through vetting procedures and allowed in such close proximity to the monarch and her family.
He said: “It is an astonishing situation in terms of security. I’m flabbergasted.
“There should be a police investigation into how this was allowed to happen. Who the prince wants to entertain in private is his concern, but this was a public event. Questions need to be answered.”
Rana was convicted of five counts of indecent assault, 11 counts of sexual assault causing actual bodily harm and one of attempted assault in 1986 and sentenced to four years in prison.
He reportedly tricked victims by posing as a doctor and carried out internal examinations on them.
When question by The Mirror yesterday the 52 year-old admitted he had not been questioned about his past convictions.
“I don’t know what checks they do or how they do them,” he said before admitting he had never “had to tell anybody” of his crimes and was not asked about them before the event.
“I was given the invitation and I attended.
"The fact that the Prince of Wales invited me clearly shows what I have done for the community since then.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman said regarding the incident: “We do not comment on the details of security checks.”
Kate's Red Hot Thames Pagent Look
Entertainment News