Pressure grows on Charles over rape allegation
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The latest bout of revelations about the Royal Family is threatening the principles that have underpinned the British constitution for more than two centuries, according to leading figures in the Labour Party.
Warnings from the leading think-tank the Fabian Society will add to pressure on Prince Charles to give a full and frank account of the truth behind allegations of a homosexual rape by one member of his household on another.
Following on the leak of letters to ministers in which the Prince of Wales aired his views on a range of political topics, the scandal has threatened the relationship between monarch and Parliament.
St James's Palace has been forced to deny claims that one of Prince Charles's aides raped a male colleague amid suspicions that the allegations were linked to the collapse of the high-profile trial of Princess Diana's butler, Paul Burrell. The intrigue surrounding the case and blanket media coverage of Mr Burrell's revelations about the behaviour of senior members of the Royal Family have caused extreme embarrassment in royal circles and have led to renewed calls for a wide-ranging review of the constitution.
Writing in The Independent on Sunday today, the general secretary of the Fabian Society, Michael Jacobs, argues that the Burrell case "brings the whole British constitution into question".
Labour MPs have urged a constitutional review. Paul Flynn, MP for Newport West, said: "There must be a full constitutional review for the sake of the Royal Family. It's impossible for them to have any privacy. While they remain as members of the human race it will be unbearable for them."