Prince Andrew trade envoy documents

The telegraph is a woman. Andy Burnham, who wants to be the next prrime Minister, doesn't seem to know. Gender critical feminist Rosie Dufffield had been supporting Burnham to become the next labour leader, but is she now having second thoughts And Randy Andy latest. New File drop reveals that the late Queen Eizabeth II pushed for her son to become a trade envoy Welcome to the Daily Tea with me, Kimilla Tomi, and me Tim Stan. Tim, politicians like to get out and about. In this case, this was the Chancellor at a petrol station trying to suggest that we weren't going to have a summer of discontent and everything was going to be fine when this happened. I recognise the impact that it has on people here in the UK. and so it is important, Shall we just wait until they have gone U I had sandwich Nro Giss Damro I you f I didn't know what the fit was but now I do M Weish slag on. I't gonna get arrested. We've got English slags on here, Rachel. We're gonna get arrested. Look Rachel there on the fight I love our country. love I love our country. And one of the things about our country is good manners It's not very British. Right. Very good. There's a great tradition in this country of heckling politicians, and it can be a lot of fun. The reform MPs get heckled all the time. There was a moment in nineteen seventy when Howarard Wilson was on a random walkabout and someone struck him with an ache. and Ted Heath pointed out that given this was an unscheduled walkabout, it meant that members of the public were walking around Britain with eggs in their pockets just in case they encountered the Prime Minister. I love that. He went on his hamlet and came off his omelette. I John Prescott, of course. Who punched back? Wh fought back? And of course John will be John. And of course Rachel Reeves isn't going to smack this guy. So this is she gave as good as she possibly can give partart of me doesn't like it And I think there's a very Fine line which is difficult to judge But I think swearily shouting at a lady is un British and I don't like it. You sound a little bit like somebody who would again, we're going back to your pajama where somebody would be wearing a kind of velvet dressing gown at a lady. The ladies. I agree that I think The best heckles are always those that are funny. Piffy and funny The best heck hum. The best heckle is when the politician laughs. Yes because they acknowledge that was a good. That's actually quite funny. But calling someone a piece of S. Yes and shouting F starmer, I don't like. And what I really don't like is politicians reveling in the discomfort of other politicians. So you have Rob Generick saying, actually, Chancellor, he sounds British to me. You have Zia Yusseuf saying I'd like to give that man a peerage and put him in the house of Lords Come on. Now, I thought the whole point about the right was we want to save civilization. Yes. which case Don't we have to act in a civilised manner? Also, she was right about the British being very good at minding their P's and Qs. This was not it. And by the way, reform have got to be careful here because they previously decried milkshake throwing at Nigel Farmage. They recently tried to kind of deflect attention from the five million pound donation by Christopher Harborne by talking Far' personal safety. If we're all perfectly comfortable with members of the public hurling abuse at politicians. Yes. Are we also comfortable with them hurling? Because it's going to turn into that. Yes. That's where it needs to I've been with game like that. I've been with Nigel where when it's turned a bit tasty. he's immediately picked up by two burly lads from security and thrown in the back of the car and driven away. It's not like he stands there taking it himself I agree. And I just come back to, I believe in chivalry Sorry I love the traditional list in Ut. I don't care. That's what being British is all about. And of course, when I have stood up for Reeves online, people have accused me of being a snob Yes If you don't mind being I don't because I'm a small C consonservative. And consonservatism is about anything. Yes. It's about snobbery. Of course, that's snobbery towards behavior, not people. Yes. And we know deep down that you're not actually that posh because of course my culture score in our own, what class are you t?'s much higher than mine. And you were horrified by that. Yes. of whereere I watch rivals, you read war and peace and y Who knew? Well some of us are in the gut of looking up at the stars, which the point is think eyes are fixed on the stars. My culture score went up simply because I said I belonged to a tennis club And like you didn't. so I'm sorry. you game the system. Look Rachel Reeves, regardless of being heckled, is feeling very positive about this summer. I'm not sure why because I think petrol prices are about to go up along with everything that we ever buy from any supermarket. But net migration is down. Well, where else could it go?ing it's following a trajectory that was set by James Clevery. It hit a particular peak under Boris Johnson. nine hundred forty five thousand. Right, And it's back down to the level around twenty twelve when it was still much too high and David Cameron was promising to lower it. But the point is, Labour hasn't put it up. Shab Barn Mahmou, the home seecretary has put it down. Also, the Chancellor may have been helped by all of the billionaires and millionaires leaving That's true. O One in six of those on last week's rich list have now left the country, by the way. one in You think they've done the same they did with the waiting lists where they rang people up and said, you still want to be on this They've been ringing up rich people abroad and saying, Do you want to come back? Yeah, please don. the weather's much nicer over there. We need to massage our figures. But she does the growth is not bad. Inflation' a little bit down. There is some irony that the Labour Party panicked two weeks ago after the local elections. which was actually just over a week ago after the local elections. and in the last few days, we've had some good delivery news, which Kirstama might want to take credit for. I know, but come on We've set extremely low expectations. Oh yes. N y six percent growth is great when it is slot came into. It'sging growth at all crosss. I mean they were literally thinking they were going to put the country in a giant grow bag. The growth is too small to sustain the amount of extra spending, of course that Rachel Reeves has poured into public sector pay or welfare. I tell you what will help though? Free bus travel for children across the summer. Uutterly bizarre. We edging towards The monkey tennis What can we British politics. what's it gonna be next? Yes. And of free carpets and mosques? I don't something It's so random. You can take your children anywhere in Britain on a bus in August when it'll be blazing h. Oh, I know. And I tell you what, that doesn't really help anyone in a rural area like mine where we get one bus every two hours, three fifty two. Right. My son does use the bus to get to school, but he likes to avoid it when he's on his holidays, I' be honest.'t Social spending should have some sense of what it brings back. It should have some sort of boomerang effect So it's about investment, right? You spend more money on education because it produces citizens who are educated, can work harder generate more taxes, et cetera. Yeah. If you just pay for some kids to travel around August on buses, probably robbing from shops. it can't escape the police on a bus because those things are very slow and they stop every few yards. But if you just spend money on that What does that return to us? I don't think it returns much. Also where are they going on these buses? Are they going to buy extremely expensive food from restaurants? We're going to sound like snobs again. We are No, no. bususes are great. No I'm very happy that people get to travel on buses. I just think it's a bit random. Can I just say I love a bus? I've got no problem with buses. I'm going to probably use one today because I'm going to the press awwards to watch somebody else win the award I've be nominated for, which would be fun for the twenty fifth year running. as I like to describe myself as an award losing journalist. and I will probably put a broken record. Indeed to come down Park Lane. But the point is Where are they going on these buses? Because everything else is unaffordable for kids, teenagers. Food is unaffordable. If you want to go out for a meal, unless you go to McDonald's really everything is just so expensive.. Going to actual places, be it for the learned a national trust property or for the fun loving some kind of climbing wall or bowling experience. againgain, it's too much more than their pocket money So I don't know where they're going to go. on by the way, if they want to buy biscuits, chocolate driried fruit and nuts import tariffs are being temporarily suspended on food products like that. So great. Maybe they could just go down to the local Sainsbury's, now having price caps imposed on it and buy a load of fruit and nut. It's funny, isn't it? Because the direction of travel until recently was to discourage bulk buying of cheap, fatty and sugary items Y. But now governments in a desperate bid to keep costs down are going to actually make it possible for you to do that It's typical of labor because the emphasis when it comes to controlling the cost of living is upon subsidy and regulation Rather than growing the economy, which means that more products are produced and thus the price falls. So it's the same with energy production, right? We are getting and we all welcome it, a fuel duty freeze. Yeah. We all love that. the freeze is going it was going to be unfrozen and now she she's's selling an unfreezing. So she's not really giving us anything. No, that's true. That's true But what there isn't, of course, is the new oil and gas licenses. No, as you said the other day. Yeah. UK gas and oil has been sanctioned Russian gas and oil could perfectly fine. Bring that into the country in bucket loads By the way, can I just point out the what is going on now with the left? So we've got full Palanskyism now from apparently blue labour candidate. This is meant to be the right wing candidate, Wes Streeting, who, now fighting for his own political survival. By the way, I think everybody left of centre has drunk some kind of focus group kool aid which suggests that everybody in the country believes in a wealth tax. Now we've got streeting calling for a wealth tax.es, channeling his inner Zack who, by the way, can't even pay his own council tax but expects the rich to pay for him. If the problem is excessive government involvement in the economy then the answer is not raise your taxes so we can pay for it. I should stress, he's actually been pushing this for a long time This is an old idea from WES and it's not really a wealth tax. It's equalizing the rate that you pay on your income tax with the rate that you pay on your capital gains. So yes of course it does Extra tax your wealth. But when people say wealth tax, they think new tax that goes after know your jewelry, your savings, your house, et cetera, et cetera. This is actually really just a tax rise on an existing tax item. but it's the first thing on the treasury socialism bingo sheet. Yeah. it is It' so bloody obvious. And anyone with any knowledge of economics will tell you It won't work. This is also also in the past. and the thing with Wees is because he's flip floped so many times, you know there is a record of this stuff He has in the past also said, if you want to become a labour leader, you run from the left then you govern on the right. So this is what he's trying to do. bothoth with this and attacking reform as a new kind of English nationalism. He is trying to portray himself as left wing and he's got to. Can these candidates much supportorry Can these candidates make their bloody minds up? Are they Tony Ben or Tony Blair Yeah because I can't follow it. The other Great King flip flop, I mean, we've got a succession of people that frankly are like politically haavianas. They're flip flopping all over the place. Andy Burnham. So Andy Burnham can't work out whether he's pro Brexit or anti Brexit. and can't work out whether trans women are women or actual trans women.. And coming up next, let's speak to a woman who can react to that. becausecause Rosie Duffield, the former Labour MP for Canterbury now Independent had supported Bernon But as a gender critical feminist, I'm wondering whether she's having Ber's remorse. We're joined now by Rosie Dufffield, MP for Canterbury, who sits as an independent, although you were previously Labour. You've been very critical of Kir Stammer. you accuse him of hounding you out of the party, and you said number ten has been run like a boys' operation What I want to know is, has the nature of Kir Starma's downfall taken you by surprise? No I don't think it'll take anybody in labour by surprise, possibly the new people who haven't lived through this before, but he's never been popular with backbenchers or veteran MPs. Since he became leader, we were kind of, let's give this guy a chance at best. actually. It was kind of lukewarm best of a bunch maybe, and he made all kinds of promises. and we thought, let's give him a go. We all as veterans, I can only speak for us had quite a difficult time during the general election No support whatsoever. In fact, hostility for sitting MPs who were not given any money for campaign materials or any kind of visits or the usual thing you get when you're running a campaign, it was very hostile towards us. From day one Starmer said, This is the best bunch of candidates we've ever had. And we're like, cheheers. We were the people that survived twenty nineteen. we lost sixty colleagues and So he's never had that love or that connection And just all of the catastrophic mistakes one after another after another. and I could list them and so could you and there's all the U turns, The first and last nail in this government's coffin I still maintains winter fuel allowance. I think that's done for them, no matter what Psibly a new leader could change things, but yeah, he's just going to limp on as long as he can. Okay he's gone as. So let's talk about a new leader because the last time you were in the Daily Ta, you were advocating for Andy Burnham. Now he's taken a step closer to becoming the next prrime Minister with his assault on Makerfield. But hang on a minute, Rosie Dufffield, you are renowned for being gender critical And here we have a politician who thinks trans women are women who thinks trans women should be able to use female toilets. and even more critically, he is perfectly happy with gender self identification. He doesn't even want the two checks by two doctors. test He basically wants to go full Nicolas Sturgeon Earth can you back this guy as labour leader? You can't Yeah, very good question. lotots of feminists have been sort of questioning that and me online about it. And I suspect that he has just done the same as lots of labour politicians and read the lines. I don't think he's drilled down on it. He hasn't spoken to any feminist groups or women's rights campaigners. And I think it's just the eas I mean, you can see certainly in some of the interviews, he looks really awkward and nervous. And that's the default position. Just read the lines, skirt around it, brush it under the carpet. And I think if he's serious now that he's stepped up to be a potential leader, he's got to have those conversations. He's got to understand what he's saying, not just trot those lines out about self ID. It's got to be meaningful. If that's what he lands on Those are his positions fine. He will lose even more women though. But hang on a min Ry. Woman to woman. This is not He shouldn't need to take instruction from feminists on whether or not a woman can have a penis. Seriously, if he's got this mass appeal and he's the King of the North and he's the person that's restored Manchester and he's going around in slick campaign videos.ormal. So normal being high fived by Man Cunians, both male and female He can't think for himself, he can only adopt the ridiculous labour line. on trans women and women, when the Supreme Court has instructed the entire country to revert back to basic common sense and biological knowledge And this guy needs to be told by women what a woman is's not that's not a genuine you can't back him at all, Rosie. No, I agree with everything you just said. The thing is that I just know that's what politicians do, particularly men who don't want to deal with this issue and he probably didn't expect it. He probably didn't necessarily know where we had got to in Westminster, Perhaps he's been busy doing bus things or whatever. But you're right, he has to make a decision. He has to know where he stands. He has to understand our point of view I wouldn't dream in a trillion years of going near the Lab Party again ever if he doesn't make that clear and he's the leader. Why would I? There's nothing in it for me. And people like me have had enough of this rubbish. So you know, if I think he makes clear lines that he understands or a bridge between women who've been ignored and sidelined and blocked like me, then Okay, but at the moment, no, of course I'm not going to go along with those. so what is just to clarify, you're not currently backing him until he discovers some moral courage on this issue in a backbone. No, I mean, look, he would be my preferred leader in terms of the wing of the party. That's kind of more where I am politically, but yeah, why would I rejoin the party under those circumstances I don't want anyone else to treat women, particularly and gender critical men and anyone that questions anything like we've been treated for the last ten years or so. So no, I won't go anywhere near it or him or his campaign unless we get that clarity. But Rosie, all those who respect the position you've taken might be asking whyy would you ever Consider the Labour Party even if they did reach a point of moral clarity, because the point is is that they didn't begin from a position of moral clarity, that when this first came up, they didn't instinctively go, No, that's a load of rubbish. we're not doing that Yeah, that's such a good question and probably unanswerable. I guess the thing is when you've been in a party for so long, done so much to kind of get them to government and you've invested so much, it's actually really difficult to completely Cleanse yourself of all of that bit that's still in there. So there is still a bit of me that is still rooting for them a little bit, but not in this way. I mean, I don't support the party as it is now at all. You know, it's from you know, I probably get sued. but at some level, so many levels of the lay Party are about soft bullying or actual bullying. Obviously all whIips activity is a bit of soft bullying. That's just the way that Parliament is run. But we've seen the behaviour of the WhIPs exposed this week and that is completely Jamine theCarl Carl. My good friend Carl whoQ about He claims that they briefed against his mental health. Yeah. And I mean, look, Carl and I will know Dozens of colleagues who've had that kind of thing, if not worse, their stories aren't ased to tell. We're just in the privileged position of being able to tell what we've gone through, the bullying that we've experienced. It happens all the time. That culture starts sometimes in the CLPs in the branches of the Labour Party across the country, if they don't like you, if they take against you I was the first Labour MP and the first woman since the seat was created in twelve, something or other. and my CRP were hostile almost from week one, some sections of it. someome were fabulous. The majority of members are lovely, but you know you have to deal with that completely on your own. So you're soft bullied in parliament, you're sidelined, you're ghosted, you're sort of stepped over disisregarded, briefed against, and it happens at a local level as well. So why would I go back to that unless I thought things were going to change? There has to be a cultural change. What do you think about Wes Streetings's record on gender issues? My gut feeling is that he's absolutely with us, but he's been just like many other people, terrified of the activists and the people within the party who don't want him to say that. Let give another example with a different issue, which is that of Islamism In an article in the Spectator, Douglas Murray, recalls that back in the day when West Streeting was working with the National Union of students, he gains some attention nationally and was attacked by Murray and by Melanie Phillips And at a meeting of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, streeting and quoting Douglas Murray here, gave a speech in which he said he was pleased to have been attacked by us. He praised Islamic stududent Societies for all their fantastic work in promoting social cohesion. And both said of his close relationship with the Muslim Council ofritain, that's an organisation which then labour government didn't approve of. Streeting says Murray remained on stage as one of the speakers gave a speech in which, among other things he compared homosexuality to Peter Fhilia None of this received any rebuke from the gay West streeting. Instead, he reserved his eye for those of us pointing out that this was surely something wrong and inviting speakers to UK campuses who taught that the women are second class citizens that gays are subhuman or that violence in the name of religion could be justified. I mean, this is a point about the left They're happy to make these alliances with extremists And they act so darn principled about it in the moment like they're on the side of progress. reallyally not It's such an interesting issue. I mean, I've got a large actually expanding mosque. I'm quite friendly with the guys that sit on the backbenches with me that are sometimes referred to as the Gals in independence, but at the same time I've got a record of calling out anti Semitism within the Labour Party, navigating this particular thing. these extreme groups which are getting more divided and more extreme is one of the hardest things I think any politician can attempt to do at the moment. But if you're a gay man and you're standing up for gay rights, which of course you should. And WS has obviously had a lifetime of experiencing that and that kind of hostility. it seems odd that you feel that you can't call it out when it's like I mean, look, we've all seen these kind of queers for Palestine and these kind of ridiculous groups. you know, we the transans and the Islamist seemed to be in some kind of alliance. That's what's even stranger about all of this. It's not It doesn't feel particularly intelligent when you sort of see the groupings that that have happened and the issues are completely separate. and I think We've got to G genererally in politicies, you've got to tell the truth more. It's scary, perhaps more scary than ever because there are these there's so much anger, isn't there amongst those groups and hostility. So telling the truth, you sometimes decide which truth to tell, whichich things am I going to get cancellled over or yelled at today I think we need to be braver and that's what leadership is, and he should have probably taken a stance on that. But also just to develop that point, I mean, there's been a victory today of sorts because it looks as if Bridgete Phillipson, the education secretary, has finally come out with her trans guidance, and that appears to support the Supreme Court ruling. So it's going to find that Trgender women cannot access single sex spaces. They can't use female toilets, changing rooms or indeed compete in female sports teams.. I'm sure that's music to your ears And yet I wonder why feminists both left and right just to develop Tim's point making more of the subjugation of women in Islamist communities? Why aren't they making more of forced marriage F cousin marriage, sharia law that massively disadvantages women. And if you want to take it even further, I mean, Sarah Poachin's coped a lot of fllack for questioning the Berker feminists might want to question the NICab being worn in this country. and yet apparently that's That's territory you can't touch because of the Muslim vote Yeah, that is such a good point. I think again, it's just down to this kind of you know, which identity is shouting the loudest. I think I work with a lot of Afghan women, the Taliban try and ban them from being educated. The methods that they use against them are absolutely abhorrent, obviously. And I think probably I feel a little bit uneducated about that particular thing. in the sense that as a feminist, all of my spidey sensors are saying to me, coovering up women is horrific. Stopping them speaking, making them sort of speak via their husbands is horrific. Every bit of me pushes back against that. However, I think there are loads of women in that space who can speak themselves about that and their oppression. So I've got to get the balance right between supporting them and not crriticizing and condemning women who make that choice maybe for religious reasons? I don't know. that is a really I think there's a gy area about how many women are making the choices for them. you go back to like the early seventies with the Second wave feminist movement implicitly criticize women who made a quote unquote reactionary choice. It had to because it had to engage in a cultural argument about what women should expect and deserve and what their rights were. And that did lead them into conflict with some women, the Merry White House types who said, I think you should be in the kitchen raising babies. Yeah. So you do have to have a dialogue with reactionary people. Yeah. That is a really good point. I mean, I was brought up by a second w feminist. We had women around the table having those discussions in kind of the eighties, late seventies wom my mom knew people that went to Greenham and there was an argument that people like my mum who stayed at home with the children weren't proper feminists. and her and some of her friends argued that actually it was a real job. And in fact, some of them were saying, we should get paid for this role. It's really important to look after your children and stay at home. I think choice is the key. Any feminist that sort of blames another one for a different choice isn't a feminist. So it is really tricky. I'm not sure I'm there yet the Berker and the cab and things. I do talk to people like my friend Nim Kaali about those kind of issues. and I do try and talk to Afghan women's groups and Muslim women, peopleeople like Tel Mama who are really strong in this space, but I mean, I'm just not sure I'm the right person to tell those messages, but we've got to support those groups of women if and when they do need our support. Sure That's a wishy wanty answer. I'm not sure I'm there. I think it's f take N Sah who gave the's proosing stage Yeah at the humble address for the King's speech That is an Asian Musl feminist who was forced into a marriage when she was young and has that experience of abuse. so she would speak out against conservative Islamic practices. Y. But also does not want to encourage racism? No, exactly. and that's a tricky thing for a white woman to kind of step into because we do have all this blaming and shaming and you know groups of identities.'s really You know, we get, we get threats from all Oh I, but it's often the women in all of this that are copying all of the flly. You look at the transgender extremism, women are on the receiving end of abuse.. You know Wen like Sarah Poachin pointing out her concerns with the Burker, she gets abused.. the women in the Burkers get abused But Mothin Alley for the Greens. you're not telling me that his wife who's covered from head to toe, that they support the trans ideology. No I know of the for pushing. isn't he spe a fallacy operating in plain sight? Absolutely. We need to leave it there, Rosie, very quickly though, a couple of predictions. Starmer still in office by Christmas? No Next leader, At the moment it looks like Andy Burnham, but I think you'll win win, do you' win Makerfield I think I was dead certain a week or so ago maybe not quite as certain, okay. becausecause of issues like I think because of things like this, he's got to be clear and there was the sort of slight flip flop in the EU situation. Yeah, which my constituents would love, greater relationship with the EU, but I'm not so sure we're makeakerfield. Okay, so basically Burnham Get your story straight Yeah he's to have to. He's gonna be quizzed. He Running on vibes and that requires ambiguity.unningn You cannot commit to any particular policy because the moment you do that, you're defined. and some people will decide actually you don't represent us. Y Rosie Dufffield. MP for Canterbury. loveovely to see in the Daily T stududio again. Thank you. Thank you very much Andrew Mountbatten Windsor latest. The Lib DMs have demanded to see documents related to his appointment as a trade envoy under Tony Blair in two thousand one Some documents have come out. Chris Bryide has given a statement about them in the house What do they say that we didn't know Well, none of it's that surprising. So first of all, we learn that his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II pushed for him to have that role. It was previously occupied by the Duke of Kent cousin, very upstanding royal with a former military pedigree.. When he did the role He did it without any incident Whatso controversy. No controversy, no taking of golf clubs on tour No insulting of local dignaties. Whs it can be done? Can be done. A the clue is in the word diplomat. In order to be one, you do have to be diplat. Diplomatic. Of course, Andrew wasn't, and lots has come out about his behaviour and how inappropriate he was and memos flying around different people saying This man is basically a bungling fool. C explain one thing to me? Yes So the quQueen just gets to say or the sovereign just gets to say, I believe this person should bet trayade envoy, and then there are no alternatives considered. I think because that role was reserved for a member of the royal family. Right to have this kind of I mean is It's not even quasi governmental really, is it? It's a kind of it's a soft power door opening role. This idea that a member of the royal family should go out and try and sell Britain abroad and I suppose grease the path to trade deals, but not have any active or political involvement in them. And why in her defence might Elizabeth II have thought Andrew was good for that in two thousand one? She had nothing else better to do with him at the time. Right. He wasn't considered in quite the negative terms that he is today We should remember that. Yeah. Don't getlandland hero is. Fcotland's Island hero Also, back in those days, the term Randy Andy was seen as a term of endearment.. It wasn't meant to be reflective of his subsequent relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Yeah. She didn't know about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein at the time that he was appointed And we now find out, thanks to Bryant, that by the way, there was no government veting into his appointment. It wasn't considered that there was anything to see here. Beyond the fact that I suppose by that point, did he have an internal palace reputation for being a bit of an ass, yes, probably, because He had a unique combination of what people have described as arrogance and ignorance, which is never the right duo to have in a personality, is it So I think she suggested him because they needed a royal replacement for the Duke of Kent He didn't mind doing the traveling He hadd already been in the Royal Navy for many years and so was used to kind of having some kind of global role and that she believed it to be the right fit for him. There are certain things that Andrewbaton Windsor preferred to do, and we know that from a letter written by Catherine Colvin on the twenty fifth of january two thousand In which she said She was then head of prrotocol at the foreign Office, by the way. Thank you. She said, I asked what were the Duke's preferences for activities during his visits It was said that the Duke of York was particularly good on high tech matters, trade, youth, including primary schools and outward bound projects, cultural events withith a preference for ballet, rather than theater That is surprising. I can't really imagine him sitting through Swan Lake without kind of being grumpy about when the ice cream is coming in the interet. I just think it's very funny to think of a diplomat saying, if I do go to that country, I prefer ballet to the theatre. His interesting also included the Commonwealth and military and foreign affairs. He tended to prefer the more sophisticated countries particularly those in the L on technology. Basically You're a diplomat representing your country, but you have a particular interest in visiting very rich countries with a good ballet house. What job. What you're saying thereary is, don't send me to anywhere in the Third worldorld. Yes. I'm a royal, don't you know. I wonder as well whether he also set out a preference for countries to visit with good golf courses. There's this constant debate and in fact, in one of the memo it reveals that he absolutely isn't going to pack his golf clubs But even if there's a consideration that he might it suggests that he did live up to his Eermmars's Andy title. in sometimes using this quas governmental role to just feather his own nest with having fun in Posh hotels course is attached often hanging out with kind of Mirats with a lot of money and basically enjoying some kind of high life, part subsidized by the taxpayer. I mean, that was the whole impression that was created. This is basically a job for one of the boys. and of all the boys that could enjoy it and really live it up, it would be Andrew, right? So he doesn't want to go to the developed world because frankly, it's all a bit beneath him Which again, I mean nobody's going to be surprised necessarily by that, but it just paints the picture of a certain type of public figure, doesn't it? And there was an allegation that Andrew demanded one hundred thousand pounds in expenses This was denied though, in immediate briefing. Oh there' no't be able to ignore that then because that was denied. No, no, I think it's good. I think it's good that we have them having to deny that he claimed. Indeed, there was an allegation at the time that Andrew had demanded around a hundred thousand pounds in expenses and the government was forced to deny it. O. So again, it must have been reported that he was spending lavish amounts.es. They then needed to push back on it Buckingham Palace is is a denial and then they need the backup of the Department of Trade and Industry in order to suggest that he isn't actually sort of fleing fleacing the government with these jaunts overseas. Yes. Curious to note that the then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook bit of a lefty agreed that, quote Ger use should be made of the then Duke of York Now this is intriguing, isn't it? Be as you say, Robin Kook, very well regarded, a politician of principle sadly died prematurely when he had a kilometers forward while out walking Robin Cook was very close to Queen Elizabeth II. Oh, Wh? Because they both had a shared love of horse racing. Oh interesting, I didn't say So this is one of those strange alliances that the Queen had with lefties, including, for instance, Harold Wilson and others, where they used to get along famously. So I'm not sure whether that would have had any bearing on Cook's intervention there Yes Maybe the quQueen had said to Robin Cook, that it was her preference for Andrew and then he passed that on to the Labour powers that be? Yes. I just think it's curious that you always assume there's an innate Republicanism within the Labour Party. But actually, this was all happening under Tony Blair. Yes. They were quite happy to sign off on the Queen would like her son to do this job And then there's no vetting No There's really no other part of public life except for Peter Mandelson. Well you could get away with that sort of thing. But then that's the smoking gun that we do not have with this document drop. because I think the media' expecting there to be a clear link between Peter Mandelson and Prince Andrew getting this role. And at the moment, we're still actually sifting through the paperwork. so keep an eye on the telegraph website later because more may emerge. But it doesn't seem as if there is that connection. And you know all we've got of the connection between Epstein, Mandelsen and Andrew is the photograph of them all in the bathrobes. We know that there was a close personal relationship between Andrew and Epstein in the same way that we know there was a close personal relationship between Mandelsen and Epstein. But we can't complete the triangle. can't complete the triangle currently links Andrew and Mandelson is the fact that they're both being investigated by the police for alleged misconduct in public office. and this concerns how much information they shared in their roles as B businessiness seecretary Mandelson and trade envoy for Andrew, how much information did they share with Epstein and others that would have been considered sensitive? I should add also that of course I was joking Peter Mandelson was vetted. it's just he failed the veting and that was then ignored Crucially for you, Tim, you'll be pleased to hear this no mention of Fergy at all in the paperwork that we've now found. and we do continue to search for the flame haired royal That is your favorite. One of our regular guests on the show, Andrew Laouy, has argued that we need to hold the late Queen to a higher standard when it comes to the Andrew story, that she made some real errors of judgment here. And doesn't this document dump reinforce that impression? My counter argument to that would be, well, with the benefit of hindsight maybe But we need to ask ourselves what she thought of her son and what she knew of his associations in two thousand. That's a quarter of a century ago. Yes. Okay. At the time, Andrew wasn't considered in the terms he is now. byy any stretch of the imagination, he was quite a popular royal. Indeed, Fergie was immensely popular back in those days. This is at the end of the nineties, this is following the death of Princess Diana. Actually the Yorks at that point are We've had to relatively stable and reliable. They look Okay, they've separated, but everyone's admiring them because they've become a kind of amicable divorced couple. Yeah. They look like a modern family. So I think can we not be judging what went on at the turn of the century to what is now considered to be the truth of Yorkes. It's two different periods of time. We willll be digesting all the events of this extraordinary week tomorrow at five PM with the comedian, Jeff Norcard