Royal conman's world unmasked

Michael Hammond obtained his swank car by deception and could not pay his penthouse bills.

To his acquaintances on London's party circuit, he was a polo-playing millionaire with a Mercedes, a string of celebrity girlfriends and the photographs to prove his friendship with the Prince of Wales and Prince William.

But in reality, Michael Hammond was a decorator's son from Sussex whose skill as a conman allowed him to trick his way into Windsor Castle and spend an hour wandering freely in the grounds.

The 36-year-old was arrested when security cameras picked up a stranger in the gardens talking on a cellphone.

Isleworth Crown Court in West London heard yesterday that Hammond had earlier used the phone to call police at the castle pretending to be Detective Superintendent Simon Morgan, a real Scotland Yard officer leading the hunt for a prolific sex attacker.

The conman explained he was accompanying famous friends of William and Harry who wished to avoid being seen.

When he arrived at the Henry VIII gate, the entrance used by members of the royal family, Hammond and a girlfriend were waved through.

The ruse was one of dozens of incidents over six months last year in which he impersonated a police officer.

Hammond yesterday admitted a single charge of being a public nuisance, which incorporated 11 counts of pretending to be a police officer and one of wasting police time.

The court heard that the "fantasist" caused officers to search for armed suspects near Downing St, and to intercept an Iraqi family on a car ferry on the grounds they were al Qaeda suspects.

Anthony Connell, a spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "He has caused many innocent people, including members of ethnic minorities, to be detained by the police, often at gunpoint. He is a dishonest and wicked man."

Although no members of the royal family were at Windsor at the time of his deception, Hammond's escapade last May 17 exposed fresh failings in security at the castle, where a self-styled comedy terrorist gatecrashed William's 21st birthday party in 2003.

Hammond was a regular at London's glitziest nightspots, falsely boasting of love affairs with singer Dannii Minogue and glamour model Jordan.

Tall and dark-haired, he was photographed by paparazzi and, using a false double-barrelled name, Edwards-Hammond, he featured regularly in newspaper gossip columns.

Among the phrases used to describe him to readers were "film consultant", "theatre producer" and "Brit smoothie".

To back up his claims to know Charles, William and Harry, he produced photographs of himself next to them at polo events.

He even succeeded in persuading television producers of his connections, fronting a programme for Sky Sports about the polo event sponsored by Cartier at Windsor Great Park.

But when police searched Hammond's luxury penthouse, they found his Mercedes had been obtained by deception and he was in such severe debt he could not pay the bills on his rented home.

Analysis of his cellphone records found he had called police 133 times between September 2003 and last August.

Hammond, who was remanded in custody and has previous convictions for impersonating policemen, will be sentenced next month.

- INDEPENDENT