I'LL SHOOT THE BUGGER; Philip fury then cops quiz snoop.
ANGRY Prince Philip went gunning last night for the rat who snooped on his mobile phone call.The outspoken prince's blunt message to investigators: Shoot the bugger.
The man in his sights was later identified as 47-year-old Neville Hawkins.
Stunned
He was quizzed by detectives over eavesdropping on the prince's 17-minute phone chat on a pounds 200 scanner.
Hawkins lives in Ingoldsthorpe, just three miles from the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
The bearded snoop - described as a trainspotter type - is a porter at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn. His wife Eva is a state registered nurse.
A stunned neighbour said: "Is that really the Duke of Edinburgh man? You really surprise me.
"They are such nice quiet people and wouldn't say boo to a goose."
Last night grey-haired Hawkins came to the door of his detached house called Papillon.
But when he was asked what the police had talked to him about, he replied: "That's my business."
Then he slammed the door. Hawkins is said to have put a pounds 50,000 price tag on the duke's 2,200-word tape, which he sold to a newspaper
Hawkins and his wife have lived in the village for seven years and have two married children - Marcus, who is in his twenties, and daughter Shelley, 18, who got married last year.
Prince Philip has ordered his lawyers to see what offences have been committed.
One Buckingham Palace source said last night: "The Duke of Edinburgh is out for blood. He is furious that someone has recorded a private conversation and an untold number of journalists have listened to it. He may press for a prosecution."
A palace spokeswoman said: "The duke's private telephone conversations are precisely that - private." MPs urged the Home Office to investigate the latest case of phone-snooping on the royals.
Senior Tory MP Sir Patrick Cormack is to introduce a Bill to bring in tougher penalties. Prince Philip made the call to a plummy-voiced mystery woman on December 21 - the day it was revealed that the Queen had told Prince Charles and Princess Diana to divorce as quickly as possible.
The 74-year-old duke was at Sandringham for the royal family's Christmas gathering.
He and his woman friend were overheard talking about Charles's divorce and mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles. They also discussed the Queen, the Queen Mother and Premier John Major. The duke's senior advisers are worried that more tapes may have been made and hidden.
He has not yet made a formal complaint to the police.
Recording a phone conversation and selling the tape is a clear breach of the law which could bring unlimited fines or a two-year jail sentence.
MPs are now demanding tough enforcement. Sir Patrick Cormack stormed last night: "I'm incensed by the whole episode. We have to have the most stringent penalties on those who seek to profit from these sort of conversations."
Home Secretary Michael Howard faces calls for action.
Labour MP Peter Kilfoyle is demanding a statement on "the practice of intercepting private telephone calls."
DO you know royal phone snoop Neville Hawkins ? If so ring the Daily Mirror newsdesk on 0171 293 3831. Don't worry about the cost, we''ll ring you right back.
of his house. But when he was asked what the police had talked to him about, he replied: "That's my business."
Then he slammed the door. Hawkins is said to have put a pounds 50,000 price tag on the duke's 2,200-word tape, which he sold to a newspaper
Hawkins and his wife have lived in the village for seven years and have two married children - Marcus, who is in his twenties, and daughter Shelley, 18, whose wedding was last year.
Prince Philip has ordered his lawyers to see what offences may have been committed.
One Buckingham Palace source said last night: "The Duke of Edinburgh is out for blood.
"He is furious that someone has recorded a private conversation and an untold number of journalists have listened to it. He may press for a prosecution."
A palace spokeswoman said: "The duke's private telephone conversations are precisely that - private." MPs urged the Home Office to investigate the latest case of phone-snooping on the royals.
Senior Tory MP Sir Patrick Cormack is to introduce a Bill to bring in tougher penalties. Prince Philip made the call to a plummy-voiced mystery woman on December 21 - the day it was revealed that the Queen had told Prince Charles and Princess Diana to divorce as quickly as possible.
The 74-year-old duke was at Sandringham for the royal family's Christmas gathering.
He and his woman friend were overheard talking about Charles's divorce and mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles. They also discussed the Queen, the Queen Mother and Premier John Major. The duke's senior advisers are worried that more tapes may have been made and hidden.
Philip has not yet made a formal complaint to the police.
Recording a phone conversation and selling the tape is a clear breach of the law which could bring unlimited fines or a two-year jail sentence.
MPs are now demanding tough enforcement. Sir Patrick Cormack stormed last night: "I'm incensed by the whole episode. We have to have the most stringent penalties on those who seek to profit from these sort of conversations."
Home Secretary Michael Howard faces calls for action.
Labour MP Peter Kilfoyle is demanding a statement on "the practice of intercepting private telephone calls."
DO you know royal phone snoop Neville Hawkins ? If so ring the Daily Mirror newsdesk on 0171 293 3831. Don't worry about the cost, we''ll ring you right back.
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| Author: | Edwards, Jeff; Mackay, Don |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Mirror (London, England) |
| Date: | Jan 31, 1996 |
| Words: | 930 |
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