MPs demand clearer rules on royal gifts

MPs are calling for clarification of the rules surrounding gifts made to members of the Royal Family and their households after disclosures in the wake of the Burrell affair.

Some reports have claimed that Michael Fawcett, a senior aide to the Prince of Wales, received a Rolex Daytona watch valued at £3,600 from a Saudi prince for helping to organise a painting exhibition involving the two men. Mr Fawcett is also said to have been involved in the sale of gifts given to the Prince and received a percentage of the proceeds, with the Prince's permission.

Separately, Paul Burrell has claimed that the Prince suggested he could burn an unwanted wooden carving given by some Pacific islanders. Some of the items Mr Burrell was accused of stealing from his former employer, Diana, the Princess of Wales, were said to be unwanted gifts she had passed on to him. Many royal servants are said to receive such unwanted gifts, which are seen as helping to bolster their poor salaries.

The issue is complicated by the differences between gifts classified as official – given to a member of the Royal Family acting in an official capacity – and those which are personal gifts. In some cases, the dividing line is unclear.

Ian Davidson, Labour MP for Glasgow Pollok and a member of the Public Accounts Committee, which has previously examined aspects of the royal finances, said he believed the National Audit Office should conduct an inquiry. "The rules are unclear and it seems that there is a question of public and private benefits being confused.''

He added: "It is difficult to see what counts as a personal gift to the Prince of Wales, apart from, say, a present from his mother on his birthday. If he is attending or organising a function, then he is not getting a present simply because he is a nice old chap, is he?''

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, said: "We need to update the rules and procedures to ensure that they are in line with those that govern MPs and public servants. We cannot have 18th-century rules in the 21st century. We need better safeguards.''

According to Buckingham Palace, gifts classed as official are those received during normal royal duties and have to be registered; an exhibition of royal gifts was mounted as part of the Golden Jubilee earlier this year. They are not subject to tax, they belong to the state, in the same fashion as gifts given to the Government and ministers, and cannot be resold.

Personal gifts, including the huge number of presents sent to the Prince and Princess of Wales at the time of their wedding in 1981, are not logged, but are subject to normal Inland Revenue rules.

Gifts given to members of the Royal Household in the course of their duties are subject to the same rules that govern civil servants: all those over £50 in value have to be declared, and in many cases handed over. Some gifts can be kept after the employee has paid an agreed price for them.