Black Spider letters released

27 letters, written between September 2004 and March 2005, from Prince Charles to government ministers, the so-called “black spider” memos because of Charles’s scrawly handwriting style, are published after a 10-year legal battle to keep them from public view. The letters reveal the scale of Charles’ lobbying and cover issues including equipment provided for British soldiers in Iraq, badger culling, herbal medicine, problems in the dairy sector, and saving the Patagonian toothfish. Clarence House issues a statement on behalf of the Prince:

The publication of private letters can only inhibit his ability to express the concerns and suggestions which have been put to him in the course of his travels and meetings.