Policeman tells of his bravery during Princess Anne kidnap plot

Aug 19, 2006, 1:41 GMT

A former policeman has revealed details about the night he was shot while protecting Britain's Princess Anne from a kidnap attempt.

Retired Chief Superintendent James Beaton, from Aberdeen, has told how he was shot three times by the kidnapper in new documentary 'To Kidnap A Princess' to be screened on British TV channel ITV on Monday (21.08.06).

Beaton revealed his gun jammed during a late-night ambush in 1974, when Ian Ball approached the royal limousine and tried to snatch the princess in exchange for a £2 million ransom.

He said: 'When I realised the gun had jammed I never really thought it was going to be the end for me really, I'm probably too dim and slow to think that. It never occurred to me.'

Beaton was shot in the chest but still managed to pull himself into the back seat of the limousine to shield the princess and her husband Captain Mark Phillips.

The failed plot is best remembered for Princess Anne's reaction to Ball's enormous ransom demand.

A briefing document released last year revealed the princess replied, 'Not bloody likely, I haven't got £2 million.'

Beaton, who was awarded the George Cross medal for his unbelievable bravery, thinks the kidnap attempt may have been successful if Ball hadn't chosen such a public place to carry out his plan.

He said: 'If he had thought about it instead of rushing in and attempting to do it in the Mall of all place, then he would have stood quite a good chance of getting away with it.'

Copyright 2006 BANG Media International