LONDON (AP) — Prince Andrew slams British anti-corruption investigators and journalists for getting in the way of trade deals in a diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks.
U.S. ambassador Tatiana Gfoeller writes in the October 2008 dispatch that the Duke of York, who serves as a U.K. trade representative, led a discussion among business leaders in Kyrgyzstan that "verged on the rude."
In "astonishingly candid" remarks, she says the prince calls the U.K. and U.S. governments stupid and bemoans the "idiocy" of anti-corruption investigators for nearly scuttling a key trade deal.
He also likens the struggle for influence in central Asia to a rerun of the "Great Game" which pitted Britain against Russia in the 19th century, saying "This time we aim to win."
