British royal security stepped up

LONDON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Security for Britain's royal family has been tightened following a student mob attack on Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Britain's anti-terror chief said.

Assistant Police Commissioner John Yates, who heads the Specialist Operations wing at Scotland Yard, would not provide details but said the changes were "already proving effective," The Daily Mail reported.

London's Metropolitan Police Service said no royalty-protection officers would be disciplined over the Dec. 9 incident during a violent protest in London over tuition fee increases.

The royal couple's 1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI was attacked on a major shopping street in London's West End as they were going to the theater. Buckingham Palace said the 62-year-old heir to the British throne and his 63-year-old wife were unharmed in the episode.

The confrontation occurred when a group of about 50 protesters broke through a cordon of motorcycle police flanking the car as it approached London's theater district in slow-speed traffic. Some of the demonstrators shouted "off with their heads!" and others "Tory scum," video of the incident indicated.

The security changes followed a report in the Mail that royalty-protection officers were warned by a police colleague 15 minutes before the attack not to drive down Regent Street.

Speculation mounted that Charles had insisted his car go down Regent Street, the Mail said.

Since the episode, Charles has been seen using an armored Bentley with extra bodyguards, supported by a phalanx of police officers.