In the past he has been outspoken on subjects close to his heart, including the environment and architecture. Now it has emerged that Prince Charles is equally as diligent in committing his beliefs to paper, through his personal correspondence.
Deeply anxious about the growth in “compensation culture”, the invasion of red tape and the lengths to which political correctness are sometimes taken, the Prince has penned his concerns in a series of letters to the head of the judiciary in England and Wales, Lord Irvine. The comments, which are politically unpartisan, voice his “dread” over the prospect of “an American-style personal injury culture becoming ever more prevalent in this country” and the extent to which our lives are becoming ruled by a “truly absurd degree of politically correct interference.”
Illustrating his disenchantment at the lengths to which political correctness can sometimes be taken Charles cited Norwich council’s decision to fell a row of horse chestnut trees amid fears that falling conkers might injure passers-by. It was a stance, wrote the Prince, that he found “most depressing”.
He also drew attention to the effects “compensation culture” could have on Britain’s military, citing a case in which a survivor of a two-man aircraft crash may face a manslaughter charge. “Why should any pilot… knowing there is a risk of litigation if he gets it wrong, take any calculated risk, exercise his professional judgement, push himself to the limits or fly in marginal weather,” he asks.
Sources at Westminster say that, on average, the Prince writes to a Minister once every two weeks.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
