Royal Guardsman & The Activist
rach...@my-deja.com
I WAS READY TO KILL HIM, I THOUGHT HE HAD A GUN
Guard tells of heroic dash to protect Queen
THE guardsman who chased a protester to within feet of the Queen said
yesterday: "I was prepared to kill him."
Ian Pragnall, 18, told how he thought human-rights activist Guy Edwards
was a terrorist trying to assassinate the monarch.
He said: "I saw him reach under his coat and I thought he was going for
a gun.
"I thought he was going to cap her - to shoot her dead.
"The way he was acting he looked like a terrorist and if I'd seen a gun
I would have used my bayonet on him."
Shocked onlookers watched Pragnall storm after graphic designer Edwards
as the Queen and Chinese President Jiang Zemin were driven to
Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
Pragnall has been nicknamed "superstar" by fellow soldiers after he
reacted with lightning speed.
He added: "I presented arms to Her Majesty, then the protester broke
through to the left of me.
"I was really fired up and the adrenaline was pumping. He was flipping
up his coat like he had a weapon inside. There is no way I could see it
was only a flag. I shouted to him: `Get back!' but he kept shouting:
`Free Tibet'."
Pragnall, son of painter and decorator Ian Snr, 45, and secretary
Christine, 39, has been a guardsman for just six months.
But has been the pride of Nijmegen Company of the Grenadier Guards
since his heroics.
Commander Robert Adams said: "We're very proud of him. He was able to
flick out of ceremonial routine and use his initiative in an instant.
"That's what the British Army is all about - and it's the reason we are
the best in the world.
"We were there as a ring of steel protecting the Queen, and Pragnall
showed how it should be done."
The guardsman, from Stalybridge, near Manchester, also impressed
girlfriend Debbie Miller, 17.
She called him at 6.30am yesterday after seeing his picture in The
Mirror. Pragnall, who joined the Army at 16, straight from Copley High
School, Stalybridge, said: "She was full of it. She recognised me
straight away."
And last night the soldier was presented with a photograph of his
glorious moment. He said he would hang it in his room at Victoria
Barracks in Windsor, Berkshire.
The young guardsman will leave next week for a three-month tour of
Northern Ireland.
Father Ian said last night: "I'm so proud of him. I picked up The
Mirror and I couldn't believe it when I saw Ian. He was doing what he
thought was best - protecting the Queen.
"He's always wanted to be in the Army. His mother is delighted as well.
He's supposed to be coming up soon and we'll give him a hug."
Free Tibet campaigner Edwards, 35, from Chiswick, west London, was
arrested on Tuesday and later released without charge.
THE Government last night announced pounds 2.1billion worth of deals
between China and some of Britain's biggest firms, including BP,
National Power and Marconi.
Trade Minister Richard Caborn said: "I hope these deals will serve as
an example for other UK businesses in every sector."
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