Queen under heavy guard

Press, 8 November 1984, Page 11

Queen under heavy guard

NZPA-Reuter London The Queen opened a new session of Parliament yesterday protected by one of the biggest security actions seen in London. None of the pageantry of the annual ceremony was sacrificed. The police said that they were taking no chances after last month’s Irish guerrilla bomb attack on Cabinet Ministers at a Brighton hotel that left four dead. Before the Queen set off from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament, the police searched sewers along the route and used sniffer-dogs to check the Parliament building. The cellars were also searched for explosives by Yeomen of the Guard, dressed in red and yellow uniforms, in a ceremony that records the unsuccessful attempt by Catholic dissidents to blow up Parliament in 1605. The Prince and Princess of Wales accompanied the Queen in the Irish State Coach on the journey to Parliament. It was Diana’s first State engagement since the birth seven weeks ago of her second son, Prince Henry. There were no political surprises in the speech that the Queen delivered to assembled members of Parliament and peers in the House of Lords.

Margaret Thatcher’s Government, which drafted the Speech from the Throne, pledged to continue economic policies based on sound money, lower public borrowing, and reduced inflation.

The Government said that it was “deeply concerned” about Britain’s record unemployment but offered no specific new measures to ease the plight of the 3.2 million jobless. The Government said in the Queen’s speech that it would continue the policy of returning State-owned businesses to the private sector. Government sources said that “privatisation” was the key element of the economic strategy. Parliamentarians expect one of the main arguments in the new session to arise from the Government’s previously announced plans to scrap the Greater London Council and other metropolitan councils. The Government revealed in the Queen’s speech that an abolition bill would be put forward this session. The Labour Party, which dominates the threatened councils, are fighting a rearguard action against the Government’s plans and have the support of some Conservative members. The Queen said that the Government would seek more normal relations with Argentina.