Controversy over Prince Charles should reopen debate on the government and lobbyists


Some might say that Prince Charles is entirely entitled to receive confidential cabinet papers, because he is heir to the Throne and has the right to understand the issues facing the UK before becoming monarch and being asked to sign acts of Parliament concerning those issues.

However, he has made no secret of the fact that he has concerns of his own – and the revelation that he does receive these documents means he is in an excellent position to push his own agenda, ahead of any other lobbyist or the national interest.

If critics of the policy that allows him to see these papers want him to stop, though, they should also consider the fact that the Conservative Government, more than any other, is accessed by lobbyists representing other paid interests on a regular basis.

There was some discussion of this when the Transparency of Lobbying Act was being pushed through Parliament by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, but of course the national interest always comes a distant second to personal interest when ministers have a chance to make a little extra money.

Consider Esther McVey’s latest job – not the one we fund in which she chairs the British Transport Police; This Writer means her new job with lobbyists Hume Brophy.

Or what about Nadhim Zahawi, who works as chief strategy officer for oil explorer Gulf Keystone which has interests in Kurdistan, has had shares in Genel Energy, which also works in Kurdistan, and also chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Kurdistan, is on the UK Prime Minister’s Policy Board with special responsibility for business and the economy, and was appointed to the Commons Foreign Affairs select committee in June 2014, where he played a key role in its inquiry into government policy on Kurdistan?

The magazine Private Eye has a section entitled ‘Revolving Doors’, reporting on the huge number of MPs and civil servants who take jobs with private sector employers.

Strangely enough – unless huge numbers of the public rally to fight over any single issue, these individuals and the relatively small number of private interests they represent appear to have a monopoly on the Conservative Government’s ear.

So why single out Prince Charles?

“The disclosure of cabinet papers to Prince Charles is quite extraordinary,” said Graham Smith, Republic’s chief executive. “Not only because they would contain highly classified information, but because it gives him considerable advantage in pressing his own agenda when lobbying ministers. He is essentially a minister not attending cabinet. He gets the paperwork and has private meetings with ministers about policy.”

A senior MP called for a parliamentary inquiry into the arrangement, which he said made Charles Britain’s “best informed lobbyist”. It also prompted speculation that the prince uses the flow of information to help him intervene with ministers on new policy proposals before parliament or the public are aware of their existence.

Paul Flynn, a member of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee, said Charles’s access to cabinet papers was “a considerable surprise” and called for a parliamentary investigation.

“He is not just a figurehead, he has become a participant in national debate and there is no control over his lobbying,” Flynn said. “This means that he is not only the most influential lobbyist, but the best informed and he is lobbying for his own interests, which are not always benign or sensible.”

Source: Revealed: Prince Charles has received confidential cabinet papers for decades | UK news | The Guardian

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7 Comments

  1. ian725 December 16, 2015 at 12:33 am - Reply

    Unless I am very much mistaken Charles is one of the very few that could be trusted. I believe that he is sincere in as much that he truly cares for his country.

  2. Michael Broadhurst December 16, 2015 at 12:47 am - Reply

    if Prince Charles is to be brought to task for lobbying in his interests,then so should MPs.whether they have attended public debates or not.
    i suspect the real reason this has been brought up is because the Prince may not see eye to eye with government policy,and are afraid he may voice his opinions in public.
    this government is trying all sorts of dirty tricks to try and make everyone subserviant to them.
    so much for democracy.
    surely there must be something in the european constitution that member states should be democratic,which we certainly are not under this Fascist government.

  3. Tony Dean December 16, 2015 at 8:50 am - Reply

    If anyone who is in shock about Prince Charles having access to confidential cabinet papers, they don’t know very much about the regulations involved.
    Those regulations have been in place for a very long time.

  4. John Gaines December 16, 2015 at 10:24 am - Reply

    Unlike the others, Charles is a very nice Man, he has not a bad bone in his body and does not grout around for ‘Publicity’…I detest the seeming conspiracy ( we know whose door to lay the blame at) and, we do not want anybody else, never), to damage his reputation.

  5. maxwell1957 December 16, 2015 at 5:09 pm - Reply

    It is quite possible that Prince Charles is being set up as an ” Aunt Sally ” type figure to distract the public’s attention from something that the ” Guvvinmunt ” wants to slip through parliament as quietly as possible… just a thought.

  6. Phil Lee December 16, 2015 at 8:52 pm - Reply

    How terrible, for anyone who takes a longer term view than the next general election to have any idea what is going on in cabinet!
    I mean, I know the politrickians think they can jump into a top level job and instantly become an expert in the field, but in the real world, it takes years to reach that level of competence, and if the subject is large, decades. So of course HRH should be given every opportunity to learn his future job.
    I’m sure that he would be fa happier if he could just retire to a moderate sized island somewhere and live on his considerable assets, but he takes the family tradition of duty far too seriously.
    What the current crop of royals and politicians does do is make a very good case for an absolute monarchy.

  7. Helen December 17, 2015 at 6:49 am - Reply

    What about Diana? Is the way he treated her to be forgotten then. There were many lies there. I don’t trust him even if there is a hidden agenda here.

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