Royal strikes again...

[David Guyatt]

Continuing the British royals tradition of treating everyone and everything as beneath their contempt:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8512279.stm

Prince 'hit Met officer' in car



Police are investigating an incident in which Prince Andrew allegedly struck a police officer while driving into Buckingham Palace.

The Duke of York reportedly struck a uniformed officer as the policeman tried to move two Japanese tourists out of the way of the Prince's 4x4 car.

The officer is said to have hurt his arm in the incident on 5 February and made a complaint to his superiors.

A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed the accident was being investigated.

A police spokesman said: "A uniformed officer was involved in a collision with a vehicle whilst on duty on Constitution Hill and sustained minor injuries to his arm.

'Health and safety'

"The circumstances of the collision are now being examined."

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman described it as a "health and safety matter" and said: "The Metropolitan Police are investigating.

"The Duke of York is currently in Mexico - he has been in Panama and Mexico for the past week in his role as UK trade commissioner."

Prince Andrew is known for his love of cars, having owned a Bentley Arnage and an Aston Martin convertible.

In 2002 he was caught speeding near Heathrow Airport.

Senior members of the Royal Family frequently drive themselves.

Meanwhile...

In the following report please note the use of caveat which I discussed elsewhere earlier today - and remember that the word "bribe" never passed my lips:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-ruin.html

The fall of the house of York: Why has the mansion sold by Duke in mystery £15m deal gone to ruin?

By Rebecca English
Last updated at 1:48 PM on 24th February 2009

The swimming pools are covered in slime and weeds, doors hang off their hinges and the wind whistles through shattered windows.

This is Sunninghill, the house sold by Prince Andrew to a mysterious Kazakhstan tycoon for a staggering £15million - £3million over the asking price.

At the time of the deal in September 2007, there was speculation that it was a special favour to the Duke of York because of his close relationship with the Eastern European region.

Speculation which can only be reinforced by the fact that no one has moved in and the property has gone to rack and ruin.


Bleak House: Fergie and Andrew would barely recognise their former home now the garden has been left to run wild


Dump: Many areas of the 660-acre grounds are strewn with empty beer cans and vodka bottles

While Buckingham Palace strenuously denies any impropriety, the sale of the 12-bedroom mansion, which had been on the market for five years, continues to raise eyebrows.

Sunninghill was nicknamed SouthYork because of its resemblance to Southfork, the oil baron's mansion in the hit 1980s soap opera Dallas.

The newly-built property in Berkshire was a gift from the Queen to Andrew and Sarah Ferguson on their marriage in 1986. They divorced ten years later but Sarah continued living there. It was put on the market in 2002.

After two possible sales fell through the prince was advised to drop the then £10million asking price by £1.5million but he was reluctant because he needed

to achieve the full amount. Andrew's problem was that he had already committed himself to taking on Royal Lodge, the Queen Mother's old home in Windsor Great Park, which he had bought from the Crown Estate for an undisclosed sum.


Derelict: Uprooted flagstones beside a rotting wing of SouthYork


Far gone: A pool used for bathing horses is dilapidated and full of stagnant water

He had already embarked on a £7.5million programme of improvements which he had hoped to pay for with the proceeds from South York.

The cash- strapped prince was forced to borrow money from his mother to pay for the repairs and at one point even had to take out a mortgage on his old home to meet the shortfall in his finances.

Now at Sunninghill, the gates which used to protect the young Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie on the 660-acre estate are open for anyone to wander in.

On the drive, several trees lie where they fell during recent heavy winds and a stable block has fallen into complete disrepair.

The grounds are littered with flagstones ripped up from the nearby terrace.

Land Registry records show that the house was sold in September 2007 to an offshore trust in the British Virgin Islands.

Kenes Rakishev, a 29-year- old Kazakh tycoon who calls himself a 'friend' of Andrew, has admitted negotiating the deal but insists he is not the owner.

The most likely candidate is his business partner, Timur Kulibayev, the billionaire son-in-law of the Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.


Knacker's yard: A stable block has a door hanging open


What a dive: Grass grows through the cover on the swimming pool

Andrew is a regular visitor to Kazakhstan, the country ridiculed by Sasha Baron Cohen in the Borat movie, as part of his role as UK Special Representative for Trade and Investment. He has made a number of private trips, and gone goose-hunting with President Nazarbayev.

Last night, Channel 4's Dispatches programme raised questions over the property deal, which was made by a trust acting on behalf of the prince and overseen by Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, who is the Queen's chief accountant, and a
representative from Farrers, the Queen's lawyers.

Why, the programme asked, would someone buy a house for several million pounds more than the market rate and then, as our exclusive photographs show, leave it to rot?


Wind whistling: Broken windows at the stables on Sunninghill Park


Rot: Eaves are in urgent need of repair

As a 'special business ambassador', Andrew should ensure that his position is not, and raises no reasonable suspicion of being, abused or furthering his own private interests, the programme makers added.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman insisted however that there was 'nothing whatsoever untoward' about the deal.

'There were no side deals and absolutely no arrangement for the Duke of York to benefit otherwise or to commit to any other commercial arrangement.


Derelict: The overgrown tennis court


As it was: The property was compared to the ranch in 'Dallas'

'We cannot be clearer that there is absolutely no impropriety and to suggest that the Duke of York has personally benefited from his public work in Kazakhstan is utterly untrue.'

A source close to the prince added: 'The house was sold before the current market crash to a wealthy international buyer who was desperate for something in the area.

'Yes, the duke was extremely fortunate to get such a good price but there had been serious interest in the property shortly before and he apparently benefited from that.'


Deserted: A dismantled light plane found in the derelict stables

Fire hazard: The remnants of a barbecue in the shed

[Jan Klimkowski]

A couple of years ago, I was directing an interview in the loose gravel-covered inner courtyard of Buckingham Palace, the square just behind the front wing, famous and familiar to all.

My camera crew and I were set up in a corner of the square, filming the interviewer and interviewee, with the full permisssion and knowledge of the Royal press machine.

Suddenly, there was a kerfuffle of besuited security types behind us, the front gates opened, and a car sped into the inner courtyard. It slowed to get through the entrance, then - as if the driver had seen us - made a beeline towards my camera crew and I. At the last moment, the driver executed a sharp turn away, spraying gravel over us all.

The car then sauntered over to the other side of the square, and parked up. After a moment, Prince Andrew got out, cast a momentary and disdainful glance our way, and disappeared through a door into Buckingham Palace.

Typically classy behaviour from the "war hero" son of Phil the Greek.

[David Guyatt]

The word "wanker" seems suitable.

[Jan Klimkowski]

The word "wanker" seems suitable.

"Tosser" will suffice.

[Peter Lemkin]

The word "wanker" seems suitable.

With or without sauerkraut and mustard?