Your trusted source

The Duke of York has risked a new diplomatic row after he claimed to be ‘representing Britain’ at a lavish dinner hosted by a brutal dictator, the British Daily Mail reported.

As it is noted in the article, nearly two years after being forced to step down as an official UK trade envoy, Prince Andrew was pictured at a summit in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, mingling with prime ministers, politicians, bankers and oil executives.

The author of the article notes, during last week’s event, he gave his views on the economic prospects for central Asia – despite having no authority to do so officially.

The Daily Mail writes that the MPs and human rights groups also criticised his appearance as guest of honour at the table of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, whose corrupt regime is accused of imprisoning opponents, torturing dissidents and rigging elections.

As the author notes that, it is the tenth time in seven years that the Duke – nicknamed ‘Airmiles Andy’ because of his penchant for luxury air travel – has met Aliyev. In 2011, figures revealed that in his previous decade as trade ambassador, Andrew had cost the taxpayer nearly £4 million on 76 foreign trips, not including the cost of police bodyguards.

In 2009 The Mail on Sunday told how Andrew spent £60,000 of public money to charter a private jet for a three-day visit to Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku.

The article notes that concerns over the Prince’s friendship with Aliyev was one of the reasons he was forced to step down as a UK trade envoy in July 2011.

Max Tucker, Amnesty International’s Azerbaijan expert, said: ‘Andrew’s cosy dinner with President Aliyev is incredibly “badly timed”. In the past couple of months the regime has stepped up its clampdown on free expression ahead of October’s presidential elections. We urge the Duke of York to make clear to Aliyev that this wave of arrests must stop.’

Labour MP Paul Flynn, who tabled an early day motion last November asking why the Prince had visited the ‘loathsome, anti-democratic, election-rigging President Aliyev’, added: ‘It is an absolute outrage that Andrew is using his Royal status in order to prop up an odious leader who is oppressing his own people and claiming to represent the UK.’