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Judges want Charles' letters made public
Source: Agencies |
September 19, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE British government must hand over confidential letters to ministers from Prince Charles, judges ruled yesterday - a decision that could shed light on the opinionated heir to the throne's attempts to lobby politicians.
Three judges on a freedom of information tribunal decided it is in the public interest "for there to be transparency as to how and when Prince Charles seeks to influence government."
It's likely to be a brief window of transparency, however. A recent law exempts the prince from future freedom-of-information requests.
The ruling comes in response to requests by The Guardian newspaper, which has been asking for seven years for letters from Charles to seven government departments.
Several government departments had refused to divulge them, arguing it might breach unwritten constitutional rules on the relationship between the monarchy and the government, and that it would discourage the prince from speaking frankly.
In Britain's constitutional monarchy, the monarch has no political power, but meets regularly with prime ministers and other senior politicians to talk about events of the day.
Three judges on a freedom of information tribunal decided it is in the public interest "for there to be transparency as to how and when Prince Charles seeks to influence government."
It's likely to be a brief window of transparency, however. A recent law exempts the prince from future freedom-of-information requests.
The ruling comes in response to requests by The Guardian newspaper, which has been asking for seven years for letters from Charles to seven government departments.
Several government departments had refused to divulge them, arguing it might breach unwritten constitutional rules on the relationship between the monarchy and the government, and that it would discourage the prince from speaking frankly.
In Britain's constitutional monarchy, the monarch has no political power, but meets regularly with prime ministers and other senior politicians to talk about events of the day.
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