A former royal bodyguard who held a gun to a freelance photographer’s head after pursuing him in a car chase has walked free from court.

SO14 police officer Paul Page, 35, was charged with possessing a pistol with intent to cause fear, dangerous driving, false imprisonment and possessing a prohibited weapon following the incident last year, but was cleared of all charges after telling the court that he thought the photographer was a hitman.

The court was told that during a high speed chase he rammed the photographer’s car with his own to get it to stop before forcing Sun freelance Scott Hornby out of his car at gunpoint. Page then put Hornby face down on the ground until a police armed response unit arrived on the scene.

At the time Hornby, 28, had not been told why he had been sent to stake out Page’s house on November 21st last year, which was in connection with a Sun investigation into alleged failed property venture. Police colleagues of Page were believed to have lost £1.3m in the venture.

Page, who was suspended from the Metropolitan Police’s Royal Protection squad a month after the incident, told police he had mistaken Hornby’s telephoto lens for a rifle and thought it was an attempt on his life. Page had been warned just days before by police that they believed that there may be threats to him or his family.