Official tour leaders complain that freelance guides with large groups and voice amplifiers are making their job impossible

They’re changing the guard at Buckingham Palace – but these days Christopher Robin would have trouble making out anything Alice says to him. Official Blue Badge guides working in London say a new wave of freelance tour guides at major tourist sights are deafening them and their guests by using megaphones and portable voice amplifiers.

The Institute for Tourist Guiding (ITG) says its members are increasingly concerned about the unofficial guides who have begun operating this summer around Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament.