HRH Prince Charles letters published
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32726099
Prince Charles letters published
- Letters reveal Prince of Wales warned about armed forces supplies: a prediction that came to be true
- Also reveal His Royal Highness advocated a badger cull which is due to be implemented
Quote:
Originally Posted by BBC (state) News
Private letters sent by the Prince of Wales to Labour ministers a decade ago have been published after a lengthy legal battle. Clarence House said the move would "only inhibit" the prince's ability to express concerns.
In one letter to the prime minister, the prince said the armed forces were being asked to do a challenging job "without the necessary resources".
Release of the letters follows a decade-long campaign
by the Guardian.
The 27 letters to seven government departments
on wide-ranging subjects, including the dominance of supermarkets, badger culling and the herbal medicine sector, were written between September 2004 and April 2005. A government veto on publication was declared unlawful by the Court of Appeal last year - a decision which was
upheld by the Supreme Court in March.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BBC (state) News
In one letter to the prime minister from September 2004, the prince expressed concern that the Army Air Corps' ability to deploy equipment was being "frustrated by the poor performance of the existing Lynx aircraft in high temperatures". "I fear that this is just one more example of where our Armed Forces are being asked to do an extremely challenging job (particularly in Iraq) without the necessary resources," he wrote.
The then Prime Minister Tony Blair replied a month later saying he found the prince's letter "constructive and thought provoking" and that the limitations of the existing Lynx helicopters were recognised by the Ministry of Defence. In February 2005, Prince Charles wrote a letter to Mr Blair in which he said the "dominant position" of retailers was the "single biggest issue affecting British farmers and the food chain".
In response, Mr Blair said: "I have on occasion expressed precisely the concern about retailers' 'arm lock' on suppliers that you express so well. I know too that after something of an improvement things have recently got worse. "As you may be aware (and this was the main reason why I have delayed writing until now) the OFT issued its report on this subject on Tuesday."
Well this is quite funny as it's all had the opposite effect that republicans had wanted.
The Guardian newspaper spent years getting these letters released, in the hope that it would damage the monarchy and give rise to the small percentage of people who support a republic: despite the fact that in a constitutional monarchy the monarch and heirs to the throne are supposed to advise and warn the government of the day, it's pretty much the standard for a constitutional monarchy and is a standard part of our constitution... it's not something new or shocking in the slightest.
Instead however, all they've done by having these letters released is to show thank heavens we have got the likes of the Queen and Prince Charles asking questions of ministers because our government certainly needs to be asked questions: just look at how right he's been proved on the Iraq war when the Labour government sent our soldiers into war without the proper kit. The badger cull and the spread of TB is another example baring in mind a badger cull is due fairly soon the last I heard.
Usually on the Daily Mail comments they're not too keen on Charles usually because it's women hung up on the Diana saga, but i've seen dozens of comments say how they've actually become more pro-Charles since these letters were released as it shows he actually cares, takes and interest and wants to hold government to account. But well done on the Guardian for wasting a few hundred thousand pounds of taxpayer cash on a futile attempt to damage the monarchy. You lose.
Thoughts?
