Beefeaters accused of making a mint

The Tower of London is one of the English capital's most famous and visited landmarks. The Tower's Yeoman Warders are arguably as famous as the Tower itself.

The Yeoman Warders originate from 1485 and are responsible for keeping the Crown Jewels under lock and key. It is said that the Warders were allowed to eat as much beef as they wanted from the royal table and thus gained the nickname, Beefeaters. To become a Beefeater today you must have had 22 years of continuous, distinguished, service in the Armed Forces.

Unfortunately, the Beefeaters have made some headline for the wrong reasons after allegations of impropriety surfaced. Chief among the alleged misdemeanours is the allegation that some Yeoman Guards were charging £50 a head for nocturnal tours of the Crown Jewels at the Tower.

Other alleged impropriety included suggestions that a Beefeater had grown cannabis (for his personal use) in a garage at the historic Tower, while another allegedly let out his on site accommodation to tourists.

In 2006, the new governor at the Tower, MajorGeneral Keith Cima, ordered an investigation on learning of some of the allegations, including the nocturnal tours.

A spokesman for the Tower was quoted in The Sunday Times on January 10, 2010, as saying that: "The investigation concluded that weaknesses in the operation of the Tower club and poor administration could have left members open to allegations of impropriety.

However, allegations of individuals making personal gain could not be substantiated by hard evidence."

The Tower of London is well worth a visit. Tourists can discover more about the Tower's history - without having to pay the admission fee to enter the site - with the City and the Tower or the City & South Bank Circular walking tours of London. There are five Walk Talk Tour London audio tour guides in all.

Each tour is downloadable in MP3 format and costs just £5.95. All the Walk Talk Tours of London are available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Customers can buy one Walk Talk Tour and get a second free by entering the code BI123 in the shopping basket page.

You can follow Walk Talk Tours on Twitter at @WalkTalkTours.

Part of the Royal Mint was located at the Tower until the nineteenth century.