Prince Charles faces audit demands

NO ONE likes having accountants crawling all over their books. Yesterday the Prince of Wales, who also exults in the title of Duke of Cornwall, joined their ranks as his office issued a polite refusal to MPs who want to examine the Duchy of Cornwall's accounts.

Prince Charles's income comes from the landed estate and last year stood at nearly £12m - a 20% rise from the previous year. The Prince has enjoyed a 300% pay rise over the last decade andLabour MPs on the Public Accounts Committee claim that the Prince's advisers had engaged in 'creative accounting' to give him greater access to capital that he would not normally be able to access.

But despite evident irritation from the Committee's members, the Duchy's secretary, Bertie Ross, rejected a request from Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, to examine the Duchy's finances and report on the findings to Parliament.

In an historic appearance before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, Ross and head of finance Keith Willis said they would not open the Duchy's books to close examination. The crown estate is not required to do so.

The Public Accounts Committee wants to see more openness from the Duchy. Labour MP Gerry Steinberg claimed the Duchy's advisers had moved some £1.2m of capital, which the Prince of Wales cannot access, into the revenue accounts so he could use the funds.

Steinberg added: 'This looks very much like jiggery-pokery. It looks like you've been doing a bit of fiddling. The Prince can't touch the capital, if you put the capital into the revenue.'

Sir John Bourn, who was sitting in on the meeting, said he wanted to examine the Duchy's finances, adding: 'If I looked at the books I would be able to report to Parliament about the aspects I thought should be drawn to the attention.'

Labour MP Sion Simon called on Ross to stop hiding the accounts and allow the NAO to step in ? but the demand was turned down. 'The Duchy of Cornwall's income is private to the Prince of Wales. Any business or estate that's private should be able to choose its own audit,' Ross said.

Two top advisers to the Queen's Duchy of Lancaster, chief executive Paul Clarke and chief finance officer Chris Adcock, also appeared in front of the committee, but it was the Duchy of Cornwall accountants who faced the most hostile questioning.

Labour MP Alan Williams said Prince Charles won the equivalent of the national lottery every year, pocketing as much last year as 450 people on the average national wage. He said the Prince's accommodation at Clarence House, with the use of Windsor Castle, was 'the best housing benefit scheme in the world'.

Despite predictions that the expenses of Camilla Parker Bowles would feature prominently in MPs questions, however, the Prince's live-in partner was not mentioned. The Duchy of Cornwall was created by Edward III in the 14th century, and summing up, chairman and Conservative MP Edward Leigh reiterated calls for the NAO to examine it as 'an external auditor'.

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