Princess Anne's attempted kidnapper back on the streets despite shooting four

Princess Anne's attempted kidnapper is back out on the streets despite shootingfour people who came to her aid.

Then 26-year-old Ian Ball stalked Princess Anne on one evening in March 1974 before he attempted to kidnap her and shooting four men who came to her rescue. Ball, who lives with mental illness, appeared at the Old Bailey and was detained "without limit of time" under the Mental Health Act after he admitted to kidnap and attempted murders.

But he has reportedly been released from Broadmoor on probation after the incident at The Mall. He was released in 2019 and went on to self-publish a disturbing book about the attempted kidnapping in a bid to prove his innocence.

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Ball, now 77, told The Daily Mail it would be a "waste of time" to apologise, and claimed Princess Anne "wasn't bothered" when she had two guns waved in her face. He continued: "I was more scared than she was."

But an unnamed relative of Ball's was upset after learning he was obsessing over the case once again. The relative said: "It would seem he really is not very well and the obsession with all this has overtaken him again. I knew he was out of Broadmoor, but some members of the family didn't, and it will come as a shock to them.

"He has written to me a couple of times and seemed much better. There was nothing to indicate he still had serious mental health problems. He had been doing normal things. He had been abroad on holiday, he was going to the theatre, everyday activities.

"I understood he was living in some sort of hostel, and you would assume he is still receiving some sort of treatment." When Ball appeared at the Old Bailey in May 1974, he did not deny attempting kidnapping as well as attempting to murder two policemen as well as wounding a chauffeur and a journalist.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson told The Mirror: "We have no comment on this matter."