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09:09 GMT
LONDON, Nov 30 (KUNA) -- The Duke of York's role as trade ambassador was
Tuesday at the centre of controversy after a leaked document showed how he
criticized France and America and condemned "idiotic" anti-corruption
investigators during a trip representing Britain abroad.
US ambassador Tatiana Gfoeller described Prince Andrew boasting "cockily"
about UK influence in central Asia in an expletive-laden discussion with
British businessmen in Kyrgyzstan which "verged on the rude".
Her comments came in a confidential diplomatic cable contained in a tranche
of 250,000 secret documents obtained by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.
Other revelations in the second day of leaks included dispatches showing
Chinese frustration with its ally North Korea and suggesting Beijing may be
ready to accept reunification with the South. US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton yesterday said the Obama administration "deeply regrets" the leaks and
is taking "aggressive steps to hold responsible those who stole this
information".
Prince Andrew's comments came in a two-hour brunch for UK and Canadian
businessmen attended by Gfoeller in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek in 2008.
Her cable, published on The Guardian newspaper website after the newspaper
entered into an agreement with WikiLeaks, summarised the meeting for State
Department officials in Washington.
"Astonishingly candid, the discussion at times verged on the rude (from the
British side)," she said.
Andrew attacked the Serious Fraud Office probe - later closed - into
alleged kickbacks related to BAE Systems' multibillion-pound Al-Yamama arms
deal with Saudi Arabia, said Ms Gfoeller.
"He railed at British anti-corruption investigators, who had had the
'idiocy' of almost scuttling the Al-Yamama deal with Saudi Arabia.
"His mother's subjects seated around the table roared their approval.
"He then went on to 'these (expletive) journalists, especially from the
National Guardian, who poke their noses everywhere' and (presumably) make it
harder for British businessmen to do business.
The crowd practically clapped."
In "an astonishing display of candour", the British businessmen alleged
that nothing got done in Kyrgyzstan unless the son of the then president got a
cut, and Andrew agreed that he had heard the same name "over and over again"
when discussing business in the country.
"At this point, the Duke of York laughed uproariously, saying that 'all of
this sounds exactly like France'," wrote Gfoeller.
Later, discussing the need for Kyrgyzstan to preserve the legal sanctity of
contracts to attract Western investment, Andrew again joked: "They won't need
to make any changes to attract the French."
The prince "stated baldly" that Britain, western Europe and the US were
"back in the thick of playing the Great Game", said Gfoeller
"More animated than ever, he stated cockily: 'And this time we aim to win.
'"
The prince said that China had joined Russia as a player in the struggle
for influence in the region, describing Beijing's economic expansion as
"probably inevitable, but a menace".
He castigated British and American governments as "stupid" for making plans
for 10 years ahead while Asian powers were thinking in centuries.
Gfoeller praised Andrew for being "super-engaged" in the discussion, and
said that he had reached out to her "with cordiality and respect, evidently
valuing her insights".
But she added that he approached the discussion with "unmitigated patriotic
fervour" and reacted "with almost neuralgic patriotism" whenever any
comparison between the US and UK came up.
At one point he said he was unsurprised that US investment in Kyrgyzstan
was no larger than the UK's, explaining that "the Americans don't understand
geography. Never have. In the UK, we have the best geography teachers in the
world". Labour MP John Mann suggested that the Prince might have to consider
his unpaid role as trade ambassador.
Mann told BBC2's Newsnight current affairs rogramme: "If these comments by
Prince Andrew are accurate - and of course we don't know that yet - then
clearly it's of public interest that they are out there, so that he can judge
whether he is performing the role well and government can make that judgment
as well.
"Prince Andrew will need to think through if he is actually carrying out
this role to the best of his abilities."
Buckingham Palace said it would not comment on leaked documents.
The Guardian today published secret dispatches showing that China's
vice-foreign minister told US officials that North Korea was behaving like a
"spoiled child" seeking attention by carrying out missile tests in 2009.
And it revealed that South Korea's vice-foreign minister told US officials
he was told by two senior Chinese officials that they believed Korea should be
reunified under Seoul's control.
The revelations threaten to fuel instability on the Korean peninsula,
following Pyongyang's missile attack on a South Korean island last week. (end)
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