Prince Charles's secret meetings defended by ex-minister!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Royal Correspondent,London(wp/wt/g):::: A former Tory minister has defended Prince Charles's right to have secret meetings with members of the government, arguing he offers more "practical help" than those trying to stop him meddling. Tim Loughton, a Sussex MP, said it would be a "nonsense" to stop the heir to the throne talking to ministers as he had always come across as "well-briefed and knowledgeable" in their meetings. Speaking to the Guardian, he said it was a "grotesque caricature" to present Charles as lobbying the government when it was important for him to be prepared for his future role as king. Loughton spoke out after it emerged that Charles had held 36 meetings with ministers since the government took power in May 2010. The prince has met David Cameron seven times, local government ministers four times and energy ministers six times. Neither Whitehall nor Clarence House would elaborate on what was discussed at the private meetings, even though those departments oversee planning and the environment – two topics on which the prince has campaigned. Critics have raised concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the meetings, but Loughton said all the "sniping" showed the royal family cannot win because they are seen as out of touch when they do not engage in society. "The thing about him trying to influence policy is completely wrong," he said. " I found him hugely beneficial to me, well-briefed and knowledgeable, with real life experience. "He was really interested to hear what's going on and make sure I was up to speed with the work of the Prince's Trust. Lobbying is a grotesque caricature of what those meetings were all about. If you look at the sort of people he's meeting it's in areas of his interest and hands-on experience." Loughton's intervention comes as MPs prepare to examine Charles's controversial role in helping to shape government legislation. The House of Commons political and constitutional reform committee will next month examine the prince's little-known royal veto over any new laws that affect his private interests. The move follows a Guardian investigation in 2011 into the secretive constitutional loophole that revealed how ministers have been forced to seek permission from the prince to pass at least a dozen government bills. The committee, chaired by Graham Allen, a Labour MP, will ask whether there is a risk that the requirement of royal consent, which is also granted by the Queen depending on the nature of the law being passed, "could be seen as politicising the monarchy". The royal veto is seen by some constitutional experts as a nuclear deterrent – a red button that is unlikely to be pressed but that may focus ministers' minds when Charles and other members of the royal family discuss policy matters with them. Later this year, the court of appeal will hear the latest stage of an eight-year battle by the Guardian to get the government to reveal a set of 27 letters written by the prince to ministers in seven departments over a nine-month period.

death in carehome at nottingham:::11 person arrested

crime repoter(wp/t)::: Atkin, 86, died on November 22 last year, just after she had been moved following the closure of the Autumn Grange residential home in Sherwood Rise, Nottingham, police said. Eleven people - five men aged 37, 44, 56, 64 and 77, and six women aged 19, 20, 25, 28, 29 and 52 - have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter as part of the inquiry. They will be questioned by detectives today. A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: "An investigation into the standard of care provided to residents at Autumn Grange is also under way and police are working closely with partner agencies to establish if any criminal offences took place." The home closed in 2012 when its council contract was suspended.

2013 6 new music promo in THE ROYAL ALBERT hall

Royal correspondent(wp/es)::: It suited the punk spirit of the first 6 Music Prom that the wildly varied mix of music was less of a cosy crossover than a clash. What could have been perceived as the BBC’s attempt to dumb down the Proms by letting in the pop people was actually as daring as anything in this long Albert Hall season. Presented by Radio 3’s Tom Service, labouring the point that music is music whether on guitar or glockenspiel, and 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, who cheerfully admitted that he had no idea about the classical world, the line-up was an education for all. Old punk fans learned that when The Stranglers are joined by the London Sinfonietta in an attempt to bring out their subtleties, they sound disappointingly quiet. The rock iconoclasts may also have been shocked by the boldness of Edgard Varese’s Ionisation from 1931 – 13 percussionists hammering out awkward rhythms with only an air raid siren for melody. Luciano Berio’s O King was equally startling, mezzo-soprano Anna Stephany’s voice weaving abstractly amongst the most delicate touches of piano and strings. Singer and 6 Music presenter Cerys Matthews lightened the studious mood with a collection of fiddle-heavy folk songs favoured by King Henry V, something in Welsh and a singalong interpretation of Blueberry Hill. It was Laura Marling, though, who showed what could be achieved when the flanks of accompanists were left in the shadows, allowing an acoustic guitar and an extraordinary voice to shine out. The final orchestral swell during her last song, Breathe, was lovely but almost unnecessary. With songs this good, the worlds of pop and classical can do perfectly well without each other.