Prince Charles Lobbied Blair Over Iraq War Resources

A series of private letters from Prince Charles to senior Whitehall ministers have been released after a 10 year freedom of information battle.

In one of the so-called 'black spider' memos, to the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles lobbies for the replacement of the military's Lynx helicopters, complaining...

"I fear that this is just one more example of where our Armed Forces are being asked to do an extremely challenging job (particularly in Iraq) without the necessary resources."

In another of the exchanges he wrote to Defra - asking if the Royal Navy could be involved in the issue of illegal fishing..

“Wonder whether any thought might have been given to the possible role that could be played by the navies of the countries associated with the High Seas Task Force? I am very probably being very ignorant about all this so please forgive me, but is the Royal Navy, for instance, included in discussions on this issue?” he wrote.

before adding...

“I daresay you will tell me there are all sorts of legal problems that prevent any worthwhile action ... !”