Feb 5, 2009, 10:46 GMT
Britain's Princess Anne's chef is an alcoholic who beat a former partner, it has been claimed.
Steffan Sjolander was found guilty of threatening to cut off a woman's nipples with a pair of tongs two weeks ago, and is currently s currently on the run and thought to be in Sweden.
A former friend of Sjolander has accused royal protection officers of failing to protect the princess by hiring the 49-year-old chef without checking his criminal record.
Karol Kotwica, 49, told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "I was staggered he got the job. Don't they vet people like that? I don't think he should have been working for Princess Anne at her home. They obviously never checked him properly.
"If I was a royal protection officer I wouldn't want Stefan anywhere near Gatcombe Park. He's a very big, strong man and can be very aggressive when he's drunk. I'm just amazed that he got through the system."
Karol revealed that Sjolander already had a criminal record before he was employed with the princess: "He was arrested and put in a police cell in December 2004 after a row with his girlfriend. She came home from work and found he had been drinking all day. His girlfriend said a few words when she found him drunk in the kitchen cooking a meal and he threatened her with a knife."
Sjolander worked at Anne's Gatcombe Park estate, for two years before the incident - which occurred in October last year, when he approached Amy Tyrell, a female groom, in the estate's stables brandishing a pair of tongs.
Tyrell said: "He had a pair of pincers in his hand and he was moving them towards me and he was telling me he was going to remove my 'f**king nipples' in his horrible manner."
Sjolander then demanded a lift to the house at estate - which was 150 yards away - and threatened to kill the 28-year-old.
Tyrell continued: "On the way he grabbed my left arm with both his hands and told me he was going to kill me. I stopped the car, told him not to threaten me or he would be walking. Then he shut up."
Sjolander faces a custodial sentence for affray, common assault and threatening behaviour if caught.
Your Talkback on this Story