BRITAIN: Buckingham Palace is again under fire over its failure to order a full independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the Paul Burrell theft trial.
After a day of heightened expectations, the London residence of the Prince of Wales, St James's Palace, last night announced a limited internal review of some aspects of the controversy which has engulfed the royal family following the former butler's acquittal of charges of stealing possessions of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
The review, to be conducted by Prince Charles' private secretary, Sir Michael Peat, will consider whether there was "anything improper or amiss" on the part of the Prince of Wales's household in respect of the termination of the Burrell trial.
Sir Michael confirmed the prince had also asked him to investigate claims of a cover-up of allegations of male rape against a senior aide to the prince during an internal palace inquiry in 1996 and to address claims that royal gifts have been sold and that members of the prince's staff may have received improper payments.
However Sir Michael's review will not extend to the central question of Buckingham Palace's role in the events leading to the collapse of the Burrell trial. Queen Elizabeth will not be questioned about her unprecedented intervention in the trial just as Mr Burrell was about to take the witness stand.
Nor will the review address other critical questions concerning the role of the police and prosecuting authorities in their pursuit of the case or evidence which emerged during the trial that the police misled Prince Charles and Prince William about the source of Mr Burrell's income.
Even supporters of the monarchy were dismayed last night at the limited nature of the concession to growing public concerns about the case, amid speculation among royal-watchers that the terms of any inquiry at all had almost certainly been the cause of a serious dispute between Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace.
Sir Michael said last night the queen believed her information that ended Mr Burrell's theft trial was "irrelevant" until she read in the newspapers that her formerfootman had not, as the police claimed, been selling items belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales, and dressing up in her clothing. He added the royal household had been surprised when the queen's information led to the collapse of the trial two weeks ago.
"The conspiracy theories are, the politest you could say, implausible," Sir Michael said.