The Prince of Wales wrote to ministers in eight Whitehall departments over the last three years, it has been reported.
Charles faces accusations of interfering in government policy after making the direct contact.
The heir to the throne has strong views on a range of subjects including the environment, farming and architecture,
He wrote to politicians leading eight government departments since 2006, while his advisers wrote to five, according to the Guardian.
Documents obtained by the newspaper reveal his advisers pressed senior cabinet ministers to bring government policy into line with the prince's beliefs on matters including hospital building and the design of eco towns.
The evidence of lobbying was obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, although Whitehall departments refused to release the content of the letters.
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, told the Guardian: "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."
Former sports minister Richard Caborn said it was wrong to keep the letters secret. "He is entitled to press his views," he added. "I would treat it no differently to anybody else's. If he is making his views known to ministers, they should be in the public domain. He can't have it both ways."
In future, however, it is possible that the government will choose never to disclose the prince's correspondence with ministers. Gordon Brown has ordered a block on the disclosure of correspondence sent to ministers by members of the royal family.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5ipFzSAlKIETTXOg_keSKrSg2E6tQ
No comments:
Post a Comment