Leading article: Undiplomatic

Thursday 21 July 2011 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The news that the Duke of York may be standing down as our Special Representative for International Trade and Investment after 10 years in post will be greeted with sighs of relief at our embassies around the world.

Though not as gaffe-prone as his father, Prince Andrew showed a consistent lack of judgement in his remarks, behaviour and choice of friends. Though he was unpaid for his services, his lavish travelling expenses also came in for much criticism.

Royal foreign visits are of undoubted value to the country, as was proved by the recent North American tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But today merely being royal is no longer a sufficient qualification to represent us abroad.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in