Her Majesty visits scene of the crime at City and Islington College
Published: 1st April, 2011
by PAVAN AMARA
THE Queen was greeted by the bloody sight of a mock crime scene when she visited City and Islington College on Monday morning.
Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, she entered a classroom with a pool of blood in the middle of the floor and liquid fingerprints on the walls – all created by a group studying for a two-year foundation degree in crime scene and forensic science.
Their lecturer, Gareth Dineen, revealed the fake scene showed the aftermath of a fatal shooting.
He added: “The Queen enquired about what the students were doing and I explained her about various procedures like the swabbing of blood.”
A small band of anti-cuts campaigners protested outside the college, holding banners from Islington Hands Off Our Public Services (IHOOP).
The campaigning group collected nearly 200 signatures for their “People’s Petition”, which opposes the level of cuts in Islington, specifically to the educational maintenance allowance.
At the end of the visit, the Queen unveiled two plaques: one marking her official opening of the institution’s animal care centre, and another recognising the Centre for Applied Sciences’ accreditation by the National Skills Academy Process Industries as a Centre of Excellence for Biotechnology.