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.