A fake priest was able to spend the night in Army barracks by officers protecting Queen Elizabeth.
The Ministry of Defence is urgently investigating after an imposter approached soldiers on guard outside Victoria Barracks – which is just a few hundred yards from Windsor Castle and is where troops set off to change the guard at the royal residence – and claimed to be the friend of the Coldstream Guards’ padre last Tuesday (26.04.22).
The man was invited into the Officer’s Mess for the evening before being offered a bed for the night – and questions were only raised after breakfast the following morning.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “The guy turned up at the gate in the evening and said his name was Father Cruise and claimed to be a friend of the battalion’s Padre Rev Matt Coles.
“He was invited in and offered something to eat in the Officer’s Mess.
“Within a couple of hours, he was drinking with the officers in the bar and telling them stories of how he had served in Iraq.
“He was telling lots of tall stories and the lads were enjoying his banter and having a few drinks.
“It was only later in the evening when he started talking about how he had worked as an ejector-seat test pilot and had donated some of his organs that the chaps started to get suspicious.
“But in any event he was allowed a bed for the night.
“Checks were made in the morning and it was apparent this guy wasn’t a bona fide priest and the police were called.”
Insiders claimed the man was known to local police as suffering from mental health problems and he was not arrested.
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: “We received a report of an intruder at Victoria Barracks in Sheet Street, Windsor, at 9.20am on Wednesday.
“Officers attended and removed the intruder from the barracks. No further action was required.”
The Army have vowed to make investigating the matter a “priority”.
They said: “The Army takes this breach of security extremely seriously and it will be thoroughly investigated as a matter of priority.
“This incident is now part of an ongoing investigation and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
On Christmas Day (25.12.21) last year, 19-year-old Jaswant Singh Chail was sectioned under the Mental Health act after being arrested carrying a crossbow into the grounds of Windsor Castle.