As the royal family tries to cope with the major security breach courtesy of Prince Andrew, new trouble emerged as investigation hits setback.
The Duke of York, who was discovered to have connections with an undercover Chinese spy, has infuriated King Charles over his major indiscretion, which is culminating into an issue of national security.
New claims have now been brought forward by the Duke’s royal biographer, Andrew Lownie, as palace tries to navigate through the fresh scandal.
“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,” Lownie told Sky News.
“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,” the author explained.
He added that all his requests for past paperwork on Andrew’s dealings have been rejected claiming all “this stuff has vanished”.
Lownie, who is penning a biography on Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, dubbed it as 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.”
Reports have revealed that Andrew met with the alleged spy through “official channels” and had also invited him to the Buckingham Palace.
Following the news, Andrew issued a statement claiming he “ceased all contact” with the businessman after concerns were raised by the government.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office stated that it takes its “its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act very seriously.”
