by Newswire

Republic has this evening called for Prince Andrew’s use of taxpayers’ money to be subjected to a full parliamentary inquiry after a damning Channel 4 documentary.



The Dispatches programme raised a number of questions that the palace was apparently happy to leave unanswered. Among these were serious allegations about potential conflicts of interest arising from Prince Andrew’s role as trade ambassador.

Tonight’s Channel 4 Dispatches documentary alleges that Prince Andrew took a helicopter flight costing £6,000 from Windsor to Shoreham, when a first class train ticket would have cost just £90. The palace disputes this figure.

The documentary also claims that Buckingham Palace has agreed with the government not to disclose royal travel costs that are less than £10,000.

Republic, who exposed abuses of RAF helicopter flights by prince William last year, will submit a Freedom of Information request to find out how much the royals really spend on travel.

Republic spokesperson Graham Smith, who was interviewed for the documentary said today: “We believe there are serious concerns about Andrew’s official role which remain unanswered. This is a publicly funded post in a time of recession which is costing the taxpayer a lot of money. It appears Andrew is benefiting personally from this position and we are demanding an investigation.”

“This documentary was utterly damning of Andrew’s role. His business dealings are apparently shrouded in secrecy while he remains an official UK ambassador – it is an unacceptable situation.”

“Republic will continue to campaign using Freedom of Information laws to uncover the truth.”

www.republic.org.uk