Palace insists it did not obstruct police inquiry into royal butlers

The Royal Family insisted yesterday it had been assured by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, that it had not obstructed the investigation into the two former butlers of Diana, Princess of Wales.

In a vigorous stand against critics, Sir Michael Peat, the Prince of Wales's private secretary, said the royals had "fallen over backwards" to help officers. After telephoning Sir John yesterday, Sir Michael said any suggestion to the contrary came from the Police Federation.

"Sir John Stevens has said he doesn't believe we did hinder the investigation in any way," Sir Michael said. "The Prince of Wales saw the police and made himself available to answer any questions. We have answered every single question that the police raised."

The unprecedented palace campaign came as Tony Blair appeared to blame the Crown Prosecution Service during Prime Minister's Questions.

In response to a question over the case from the veteran left-winger Dennis Skinner, Mr Blair said: "The Crown Prosecution Service are learning the lessons of both cases and I hope they learn them quickly."

The statement from Sir Michael, currently heading an internal investigation into the palace practice over royal gifts, was part of a concerted attempt to shift blame for the two collapsed cases away from the Royal Family. He said he had telephoned Sir David Calvert-Smith, the Director of Public Prosecutions, who also confirmed that the Royal Family had not misled his lawyers.

His account was confirmed by a CPS spokeswoman who said Sir Michael had called to express concern about claims in yesterday's newspapers from "prosecution sources" which said that it had been misled by the Royal Family. "The DPP was able to reassure him that that wasn't the case," she said.

The statement came after weeks of speculation over the Queen's sudden recollection of a conversation with Paul Burrell that brought down the case against him. The knock-on effect also wrecked the prosecution case against Mr Burrell's predecessor as Diana's butler, Harold Brown, who was acquitted on Tuesday amid continuing behind-the-scenes recriminations.

Sir Michael said Prince Charles had remained "stoical" over the fallout from the case and that he would "never want to intervene in the proper course of justice".

Asked why palace aides had not explained to the police during their investigation about the culture of royals giving gifts to their staff, Sir Michael said it was unnecessary. "It was totally clear to everybody that the Prince and Princess of Wales gave gifts, and valuable gifts, to staff," he said.