Security alert as guard takes convict into Palace

London: Buckingham Palace was at the centre of a new security scandal on Friday after a convict was smuggled in by a Scotland Yard guard.

The woman, who is said to have a number of criminal convictions, should have been subjected to stringent checks when she entered the Palace.

But she avoided scrutiny and was able to accompany the guard, who works for the Metropolitan Police Service's elite Specialist Operations department, into secure areas of the Queen's home.

The guard, a civilian member of police staff, has been moved to non-operational duties as officials investigate.

The incident is a major embarrassment to royalty protection chiefs as it happened just weeks after two journalists were given access to highly sensitive areas of the Palace, and even posed in the Queen's state Bentley.

The latest security breach happened in June when the police guard invited the woman to the Palace.

As she was a first-time guest, he should have alerted colleagues that she was visiting.

He failed to do so, meaning no checks could be carried out on her background and suitability to enter sensitive areas of the Queen's home. Sources said the pair spent most of the time in the staff accommodation area but would not specify exactly where.

The security breach came to light as a result of "internal enquiries" in the Palace days after the woman's visit. It is not known whether the Queen was in residence at the time of the incident, but sources stressed that the intruder did not get near Her Majesty's private accommodation. The nature of the woman's criminal convictions was not clear last night. Insiders said that although they did not include "very serious" offences, they would have been of sufficient magnitude to bar her from the Palace.

Dai Davies, former head of Scotland Yard's Royalty Protection squad, demanded an urgent review of security at the Palace.