Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor charged massages to taxpayers while trade envoy, say reports

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor charged massages to taxpayers while trade envoy, say reports Former senior civil servants say culture of deference meant excessive expenses claims were waved through Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor charged taxpayers for the cost of massages and excessive travel expenses while he was the UK’s trade envoy, it has been reported. Former senior civil servants said they were shocked to see the claims, and that there was a culture of deference towards the former prince within Whitehall that allowed them to proceed. “I thought it was wrong … I’d said we mustn’t pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway,” a former civil servant told the BBC , referring to a claim that followed a visit to the Middle East. The source, who worked in the UK’s trade department in the early 2000s and is now retired, said he was annoyed by Andrew’s request to cover the cost of “massage services”, and refused. But he claimed he was overruled by senior colleagues. He said he regretted Andrew was able to get away with the expense claim when it might have been a chance to check his behaviour. “I can’t say it would have stopped him, but we should have flagged that something was wrong.” The broadcaster reported that a second source, who oversaw finances in this area, saw similar expense claims for Andrew’s trips and had “absolutely no doubt” about the authenticity of the allegations. The BBC also reported on claims for the costs of excessive flights, unreasonable numbers of hotel rooms and charges for Andrew’s entourage. “I couldn’t believe it … it was like it wasn’t real money, they weren’t spending any of their own money,” a source said. The costs reportedly disappeared into different budgets, making them hard to trace, and there was little certainty over who had been in Andrew’s entourage. The culture of deference meant checks on his spending were more “rubber stamp” than scrutiny, according to the sources. The broadcaster said it spoke to the former civil servants separately. The...