Yahoo
News
Search
query
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/prince-andrew-paperwork-relating-duke-013900192.html
Sky News
Prince
Andrew: Paperwork relating to Duke of York's past business dealings 'has
vanished', author claims
Sky News
Updated Sat
14 December 2024 at 4:07 pm GMT·6-min read
Government
departments are doing "anything to avoid" sharing information about
Prince Andrew's past business dealings.
The claim
comes from author Andrew Lownie who's been working for four years on a new book
about the Duke of York.
He has
submitted over a hundred requests to Whitehall departments only to find that
information "has vanished".
Speaking to
Sky News, he said: "I used to write about the intelligence services, and I
found that was a lot easier, a lot more open and transparent than the Royal
Family.
"I have
tried, through the Freedom Information Act, to get access to any of the
paperwork for Andrew, a special representative between 2001 and 2011 when he
was taxpayer-funded, a public servant", but explaining how his requests
have been rejected he said "this stuff has vanished".
'It's like
playing whack-a-mole'
"The
Foreign Office claimed not to know anything about it. The Department of
Business and Trade know nothing.
"It's
like playing whack-a-mole. It's real Yes Minister stuff, anything to avoid
releasing this information."
Interest in
Prince Andrew's finances has increased in recent months after it was revealed
that the King was no longer paying him an allowance, raising questions about
how he is able to pay for his home on the Windsor Estate, Royal Lodge, and
security.
The prince's
time as trade envoy for the UK may be significant because it was potentially a
lucrative time for him, giving him access to business contacts around the
world.
Information
withheld 'in accordance with the acts'
A Department
for Business and Trade spokesperson said: "The department has complied
with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act and Public Records
Act and maintains that information has been withheld in accordance with the
acts.
"This
includes an ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) decision notice which
outlined that the commissioner did not need to take any further steps."
When asked,
the Foreign Office told Sky News: "The FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office) takes its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act
very seriously."
It comes as
a Chinese businessman - described as a "close confidant" of Prince
Andrew - was barred from entering the UK over national security risks.
Known as H6,
the man was invited to the duke's birthday party in 2020, and was told by
Andrew's aide Dominic Hampshire that he could help in potential dealings with
Chinese investors. A judge ruled the Chinese businessman had an
"unusual" degree of trust from the royal.
On Friday,
the duke said he "ceased all contact" with the businessman after
concerns were raised by the government.
Andrew met
the individual through "official channels" with "nothing of a
sensitive nature ever discussed", a statement from his office said.
Home
Secretary Yvette Cooper would not comment on the case but said: "Our
security and intelligence agencies are continually vigilant for any threat to
UK national security, whether that be around foreign influence, whether it be
around espionage, whether it be around any security threat.
"So, of
course, we won't hesitate to take action in individual cases or more widely,
wherever any challenge arises."
Growing call
for accountability
Former chair
of the public accounts committee between 2010 and 2015, Baroness Margaret
Hodge, has joined calls for less secrecy generally around the royal finances.
She told me:
"I find it really difficult to believe that the departments for whom
Prince Andrew had contact when he was an envoy have not got the records.
"They
will have those records, they obviously just don't want to share them. And that
really says it all.
"I want
a Royal Family that is well-funded: they're a precious and valued institution
in our society but going with that funding must come some accountability."
The palace
believes that as a non-working royal, the duke's income and tax arrangements
are a matter for him and HM Revenue and Customs.
In terms of
how he is paying for Royal Lodge, Sky News understands the royal household has
been given assurances that his sources of income are all above board, however,
it is not in their remit to vet or approve those sources.
It sees it
as a job for the Crown Estate which manages properties in the likes of the
Windsor Estate.
But Royal
Lodge is of interest more generally to the family.
As the
former home of the Queen Mother, it's been suggested that potentially other
members of the family may be interested in living there in the future, from the
Prince and Princess of Wales to Queen Camilla looking at it for her family.
'Opaque' and
'confusing'
However
Robert Hardman, journalist and author of Charles III: New King. New Court,
says: "Everything to do with Prince Andrew is opaque, is confusing, people
don't really want to talk about it because his situation is a
distraction."
He added:
"I think the real question is not what's happening today, it's what's
happening in a few years down the line, what happens if his savings run out,
these sources of income such as they are at the moment, what if they run out
and suddenly he can't afford to pay for the maintenance or the protection, what
happens to the lease then?
"Does
the Crown Estate then say, 'Well, actually the terms of the lease have been
forfeited?' We just don't know.
"It is
a private financial matter for him but given the prominence of the house and
its history and its connections, then the media are clearly going to carry on
taking a keen interest in it, as are the Crown Estate and as are ultimately the
Treasury."
Prince
Andrew's television interview five years ago about his links to convicted
paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was meant to shut the scandal down and allow him to
get back to public duties without that distraction.
Instead, it
had the opposite effect.
This year,
he has only been seen once officially in front of the cameras, as he appeared
to lead the family as they walked to the chapel at Windsor for a memorial
service in February.
This
Christmas we may again see Andrew with the rest of the family going to church
at Sandringham, always a sign that he hasn't been entirely left out in the cold
by his relatives.
But he still
lives with the repercussions of the Jeffrey Epstein saga, his extraordinary
downfall meaning questions will continue to remain about him, how he lives and
his finances.
Terms/Privacy
PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsAbout our ads
The
Telegraph
Prince
Andrew’s China ‘spy’ scandal aide ran secret trust fund intended for princesses
Victoria
Ward
Fri 13
December 2024 at 8:20 pm GMT·4-min read
The senior
adviser to the Duke of York at the centre of a Chinese “spy” scandal once ran a
shadowy trust fund on Prince Andrew’s behalf.
Dominic
Hampshire, 56, is a close friend of the Duke and shares his passion for golf.
Such was the
nature of their relationship that in a letter dated October 2020, he told the
alleged spy that he was authorised to act on the Duke’s behalf when making
investments in China.
A few months
earlier, Mr Hampshire had felt it necessary to stress to the Chinese contact
how valuable a friend he was to the Duke.
“I also hope
that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family,”
he said.
“You should
never underestimate the strength of that relationship... outside of his closest
internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people
would like to be on.”
Mr
Hampshire, a former equerry to the Duke of Kent, ran a junior golf tournament
set up in Prince Andrew’s name.
He was also
the sole director of Lincelles, the secretive company set up to act as a trust
fund for the Duke’s two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The company,
incorporated in 2020, was structured as an unlimited company, meaning it would
not be required to file accounts with Companies House and could avoid
disclosing its profits or income.
But the Duke
was advised that while such ventures are fairly standard for ultra high net
worth individuals, they were not appropriate for a member of the Royal family.
As such, the
company was abandoned and has never been used.
“Not a penny
has gone in and not a penny has come out,” one friend said at the time.
The Duke
controlled 75 per cent of Lincelles through his Urramoor Trust while Harry
Keogh, another friend and adviser who was the subject of a sexual harassment
probe at Coutts, was listed as a fellow controller.
Mr Keogh, a
former managing director at Coutts, the Queen’s bank, resigned in March 2018
after he was accused of touching a female colleague inappropriately and
boasting about his sexual exploits.
Coutts
banker Harry Keogh was dismissed for inappropriate behaviour at work
Mr Hampshire
has been in the Duke’s orbit for decades. He is secretary of the Quad Centenary
Club which was set up to raise funds for the Royal Blackheath Golf Club in
London, of which Andrew was said to be chairman.
In 2001, he
set up a luxury travel company, later telling US magazine Cigar Aficionado: “We
literally hold the keys to the castle, and our connections allow for visits to
otherwise private castles, golf clubs, after-hours private tours of museums
with the curators, those kinds of things.”
He told
Esquire magazine in 2007 that he had provided a tour of Kensington Palace with
Princess Diana’s former bodyguard and a pre-opening tour of Windsor Castle.
In 2021, Mr
Hampshire penned a letter to the alleged Chinese spy known only as H6,
emphasising that he was free to act on the Duke’s behalf.
The letter
added that after a meeting with the Duke, they had “wisely navigated our way
around former private secretaries and we have found a way to carefully remove
those people who we don’t completely trust”.
It said:
“Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in
and out of the house in Windsor.”
On Friday, a
statement from the Duke of York’s office said that the royal “ceased all
contact” with the alleged spy after receiving advice from the Government.
The
statement says: “The Duke of York followed advice from HMG and ceased all
contact with the individual after concerns were raised.
“The duke
met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive
nature ever discussed.
“He is
unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
The
Telegraph approached Mr Hampshire for comment.
Terms/Privacy
PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsAbout our ads
The Daily
Beast
Prince
Andrew Says He Has ‘Ceased All Contact’ With Alleged Chinese Spy
Liam
Archacki
Fri 13
December 2024 at 9:45 pm GMT·2-min read
Prince
Andrew says he “ceased all contact” with a business partner and friend once the
British government raised concerns that the man was, in fact, a Chinese spy.
The Duke of
York had reportedly invited the businessman to his birthday party and tried to
tap him for money as he sought partners for a financial fund, The Times of
London reported.
Now, Andrew
has released a statement on the situation, aiming to exculpate himself.
“The Duke of
York followed advice from HMG [His Majesty’s Government] and ceased all contact
with the individual after concerns were raised,” it reads, according to Sky
News. “The duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a
sensitive nature ever discussed. He is unable to comment further on matters
relating to national security.”
The alleged
spy was appointed as a business adviser to Andrew and authorized to seek
investors on his behalf in China, according to The Times.
MI6
uncovered, though, that the businessman was a member of the Chinese Communist
Party and was working for China’s intelligence-gathering United Front Work
Department.
A hearing
this week that upheld a ban on the man from entering the United Kingdom also
unveiled details of his ties to the Duke of York. The evidence presented
included data gathered from the alleged spy’s phone when he was stopped at the
border in 2021.
It included
a letter from Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to the prince.
“I also hope
that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family,”
the letter read, according to the Times. “You should never underestimate the
strength of that relationship… outside of his closest internal confidants, you
sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.”
Another
document found on the phone, written by the businessman, reportedly said that
Andrew was in a “desperate situation and will grab onto anything.”
It’s not the
first time Andrew has found himself in hot water over a controversial
friendship.
In 2019, he
was made to step away from his duties in the royal family due to his close
personal relationship with convicted child sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário