Batman zaps security at the Palace

A protester dressed as Batman breached security at Buckingham Palace yesterday by scaling the perimeter wall and staging a demonstration on a ledge next to the main balcony.
Despite two security reviews in the past year, Jason Hatch, 33, a member of the pressure group Fathers 4 Justice, managed to evade police and armed guards and climb on to the building.


After more than five and a half hours standing on the ledge 25ft above the ground, Hatch came down at 7.15pm. He clapped and waved to the crowds before being slowly lowered to the ground with two police officers in a mechanical hoist.

Hatch, who was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, was examined at St Thomas's Hospital. He told police he had an existing, unrelated head injury.
David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, told MPs last night that the incident showed that an alarm system installed at the palace after the September 11 attacks did work.


While Hatch had breached security, police both inside and outside the building took "immediate steps to protect the palace".
The building had been quickly secured and an armed officer at the scene decided that Hatch was a protester rather than a terrorist.
The stunt came on the day another member of the Fathers 4 Justice group was in court facing public order charges over an incident earlier this year when a condom filled with purple flour was thrown at the Prime Minister in the Commons.

Hatch edges his way round towards the main balconey
Although neither the Queen nor any other member of the Royal Family was in residence yesterday, Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, admitted the intruder's ability to get as far as he did was another embarrassment for his force, which is responsible for royal security.

"It's not good enough and we want to know how this happened."
Sir John said police would have shot Hatch had they thought he had a bomb. Police and palace officials launched separate inquiries.

The Met was criticised last year when Aaron Barschak, describing himself as a "comedy terrorist", gatecrashed Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle wearing a dress and beard.

Questions about vetting procedures were raised when a Daily Mirror reporter obtained a job as a footman at Buckingham Palace. An inquiry by the Security Commission led to the appointment of Brig Gen Jeffrey Cook as new royal security chief.

Unmasked Hatch is led away by police ending his protest
Yesterday's incident was the latest in a series of high-profile protests staged by members of Fathers 4 Justice wearing super-hero costumes.

Hatch, a painter and decorator from Gloucester, used a ladder to scale the palace railings where they meet a palace annexe close to the road.
He then clambered along ledges on the outside of the building to reach the balcony in front of the palace, where he unfurled a banner which read: "Super dads of Fathers 4 Justice" and "Fighting for your right to see your kids".

Another member, David Pyke, 48, who was dressed as Batman's sidekick Robin, also tried to scale the perimeter fence but came down when police threatened to shoot him. He was arrested later.

A third man, who was seen holding the ladder for Hatch and Pyke, ran away, police said.
John O'Connor, a former Scotland Yard Flying Squad commander, said the breach was an "absolute disgrace".

He added: "They are more concerned about the Changing of the Guard and all the ceremonies than taking security seriously."

Hatch separated from his wife Victoria in 2001 and was granted access to his children for two hours every three weeks by a judge.

But Hatch, a national co-ordinator of Fathers 4 Justice, claims he has only seen his son, aged five, and daughter, four, for a total of six hours in the past three years.

Matt O'Connor, the founder of Fathers 4 Justice, said the stunt was planned at the weekend in a pub in Shropshire. "It just shows how unbelievably lax security is at the palace," he added. "I'm so glad Hatch made it. David, unfortunately, bottled it when the police threatened to shoot him. You can't really blame him for that."

David Davis, the Tory home affairs spokesman, questioned the police's assessment of the Batman threat.

"How can anyone ever be sure these incidents are pranks and not terrorists masquerading as pranksters?" he said.

"This advertises weaknesses in our security and this long series of security failures could encourage terrorist attacks."

Palace protesters freed on bail

Jason Hatch was flanked by supporters as he left the stationTwo fathers' rights protesters behind a security breach at Buckingham Palace have been released on police bail.

Jason Hatch, 32, and David Pyke, 48, will report back to police in December pending further inquiries and liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mr Hatch, who dressed as Batman to scale the palace on Monday, said: "It was easier to get to the Queen's balcony than to see my own children."

He added that he hoped his five-hour protest had raised public awareness.
"Hopefully my children have seen it and know I haven't gone away," added Mr Hatch.
Leaning on a friend for support, an exhausted Mr Hatch said he had been frightened during the protest, but was determined to "stand and fight".

A security review now under way has started a political row after the home secretary defended police action.

Fathers 4 Justice spokesman Matt O'Connor said it was not for them to comment on security matters.
But he said the full "firepower" of the group's 10,000 members would be directed at the Labour Party, particularly as conference season begins.

"There's going to be on hell of a scrap between us and them in the run-up to the next election," he said.

PREVIOUS F4J STUNTS
Sept 2004: Protester David Chick, who is supported by F4J, scaled the London Eye
July 2004: F4J members disrupted a service and held a rooftop protest at York Minster
May 2004: Condoms full of purple flour were thrown at Tony Blair in the Commons
February 2004: Activists climbed bridges and gantries in Bristol, London and Newcastle
January 2004: One protester spent six nights on a gantry over Tamar Bridge, Plymouth
November 2003: 'Spiderman' sat on a 100ft crane near Tower Bridge for six days
May 2003: F4J began to grab headlines when masked men scaled a Plymouth family court

Struggling with palace intruders

On Tuesday three police officers were seen standing at the spot where a ladder was used for Mr Hatch's ascent. His fellow campaigner Mr Pyke, who dressed as Batman's sidekick Robin, was stopped by armed police at the scene.

Mr Hatch, from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Mr Pyke, 48, also from Cheltenham, was questioned about aiding and abetting a criminal act.
Following the incident Home Secretary David Blunkett argued the Met Police had "acted correctly" in assessing the threat posed by Mr Hatch.

Later he insisted that he was "calm but not complacent" about the intrusion and said there was no reason to demand resignations "for the sake of a 24-hour headline".
But shadow home secretary David Davis said his message to police would be: "Get your act together."

He told the BBC's Today programme: "This is a bunch of amateur protesters. What on earth would we be seeing if this had been a serious terrorist attack?"
In an earlier emergency statement to the Commons, Mr Blunkett had conceded that the speed with which the intruders were able to scale the wall was "of concern".
He said police would have shot the protester if he had been judged a terror risk.
Mr Blunkett said the government had followed the recommendations of MI5 after the September 11 attacks, but added he did not believe in having security which hid prominent buildings from the public.