BRITISH PRIME minister David Cameron and business leaders have defended the Duke of York’s work as a trade ambassador, following criticism of his links with American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who has served 18 months in jail for soliciting an under-age girl for prostitution.
Despite the criticism, Prince Andrew yesterday carried out a number of engagements in London, visiting a school and a company which is building a new train line across London.
Following a weekend where Downing Street and senior ministers were noticeably weak in their defence of him, a spokesman for the prime minister said he “fully” supported his “valuable role” in promoting British business.
“He has made a very important contribution to UK trade through that role and continues to do so. We aren’t reviewing that role in any way,” said Mr Cameron’s spokesman.
However, Liberal Democrat business secretary Vince Cable said the prince was “a volunteer” in his role and it would be “up to him to judge the position he wants to be in” in future.
The trade promotion body, UK Trade Investment, said the prince’s “unique position gives him unrivalled access to members of royal families, heads of state, government ministers and chief executives of companies”, allowing him to emphasise the importance the UK places on bilateral relationships “at the very highest levels to lobby on behalf of British business”.
Defending the prince, former head of the trade body Andrew Cahn said: “Our competitors would give their eye teeth to have a trade ambassador like the Duke of York. If you were to ask the French or the Americans or the Russians would they like somebody with this access, this profile, they’d leap at it. So I think we get value for money.”
He rejected allegations that the prince was frequently boorish and hard to work with. “He’s got a strong character, he’s got a strong personality . . . but my observation is that our ambassadors overseas value his visits; the ones where he adds real value repeatedly ask him to come back again, so I don’t recognise that description.”
The trade body issued supportive comments from leading British business figures about the prince’s work, although a number had been made up to three years ago.
In one, Malcolm Brinded, Shell’s managing director, said the prince’s “experience, commitment and global reach are a real asset to UK companies operating around the world”.
Thomas Harris, vice-chairman of Standard Chartered Capital Markets, said: “Much of his [the duke’s] work is necessarily unpublicised but, in current circumstances, we are fortunate to have a royal envoy who is knowledgeable about business and devoted to the promotion of economic prosperity in his country.”