‘Black spider memos’ are going public
LONDON — Private correspondence between Prince Charles and British cabinet ministers will be made public on Wednesday following a ruling by Britain’s highest court that an attempt to keep it secret was unlawful.
The Prince has expressed “disappointment” that his so-called “black spider memos” to seven departments in Tony Blair’s former Labour government will be made public, though aides insisted he was “relaxed” about light being shed on his lobbying.
In March, a Supreme Court ruling brought an end to a 10-year battle by declaring that Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, acted unlawfully when he imposed a veto on publication of the 27 letters to and from the Prince written in 2004 and 2005.
A royal source said the Prince had “no fear” that his impartiality would be compromised when the letters are published. But the decision is undoubtedly a blow for the prince, who has often been accused of meddling in government affairs on matters such as planning and the environment. A Whitehall source familiar with the letters said they were “much more boring than people have ever anticipated,” and that suggestions of “seismic impropriety” are wide of the mark.
Clarence House, which speaks for the Prince, said in March: “Clarence House is disappointed the principle of privacy has not been upheld.”
A source close to the Prince insisted that the content of the letters was almost entirely “benign,” covering such issues as buildings being left derelict in areas with housing shortages, and that the Prince had “no fear” that his impartiality would be compromised.
The Prince, who has been writing to ministers since 1969, has been accused in the past of “bombarding” their departments with his letters, nicknamed “black spider memos” because of his distinctive handwriting and abundant use of underlining and exclamation marks.