Prince Charles accused of meddling
Prince Charles accused of meddling in government policy
Thursday, 17, Dec 2009 09:07
By Richard James.
Prince Charles has once again faced accusations of meddling in government policy after it was revealed he had written to ministers in eight different departments over the last three years.
The Guardian newspaper claims the heir to the throne wrote to ministers in departments including the Treasury and the Foreign Office.
It is well known Prince Charles has strong views on the environment and architecture and has previously been criticised for commenting on and attempting to influence government policy.
The Guardian claims it has obtained documents which suggest the prince's advisers also contacted senior cabinet ministers over the three-year period.
The information was obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, although the newspaper reports the government departments refused to reveal the content of the letters sent by the monarch.
Commenting on the news, Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said of Prince Charles: "He has to be very careful to respect the traditional separation between the democratically accountable parts of the constitution and the ceremonial parts.
"The Prince of Wales is entitled to ask about what is going on but if he is urging a particular point of view, then that's a different matter."