British police swear an oath of allegiance to the Windsor family. Their badges show a crown and the initials ER, referring to the feudal head of state. And for London’s Metropolitan Police this seems to be more than a formality .
In 2006 they investigated allegations that News International reporters had “hacked” the mobile phones of two members of the Windsor entourage to get gossip for the News of the World newspaper. They not only investigated these allegations. They made charges. There was a conviction. And the accused went to jail.
But the many others who believed they were victims of the newspaper’s snooping were, in effect, told to get lost. Only 4 years later, and following civil actions, a parliamentary enquiry, investigations by the Guardian, New York Times and the Financial Times, have the police been embarrassed into a full investigation of claims that the phones of the Windsor family’s “subjects” were also hacked.
The police are, indeed, loyal servants of the crown.