Press Trust of India
London, August 31: Britain’s Prince Charles privately lobbied the Scottish government to give funds to a food brand patronised by him, according to newly released memos. Written between July 2007 and July 2010, the “black spider memos”, a reference to Charles’ handwriting, reveal the Prince’s attempts to influence Scottish government’s policy. The release of portions of the letters under freedom of information laws was strongly opposed by the Prince but backed by former Scotland First Secretary Alex Salmond.
After initially being refused, ‘The Sunday Herald’ was last week given extracts from six letters from the Prince and six replies from Salmond. The text of the rest of the letters has been kept secret. In one extract from a letter dated June 15, 2009, Charles urged Salmond to give financial aid to the Soil Association in Scotland, of which he is the patron, for an initiative promoting healthier and more sustainable food, the Guardian reported.
“I wondered if it might be possible to investigate whether there could be some form of support to assist the Soil Association in avoiding having to cut back their capacity for this initiative,” the prince wrote. In reply, Salmond pointed out that the Scottish government was already giving the association 148,563 pounds.
