Offer of Camillagate inquiry rejected

First Edition

CAMILLA Parker Bowles has rejected the offer of a Press Complaints Commission investigation into the taping of her alleged telephone conversation with the Prince of Wales in December 1989, writes Steve Boggan.

She wrote to the PCC yesterday saying she did not wish to comment on the reports of the conversation, which included sexually explicit exchanges between two adults trying to arrange a liaison without the knowledge of their partners.

Mrs Parker Bowles's rejection of the PCC's offer came a day after the Prince's. His press secretary, Charles Anson, wrote to the PCC on Monday saying that the Prince did not wish to be involved in an investigation but was concerned about the practice of eavesdropping on private conversations.

Buckingham Palace has emphasised that the refusal to instigate a PCC investigation does not mean the tape, published in the People, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Sport and Kent Today, is authentic.

The PCC meets today to discuss the issue and the findings of Sir David Calcutt's review of press self-regulation, but it is unlikely that any further action will be taken in respect of the 'Camillagate' tape and another, allegedly between the Princess of Wales and her friend James Gilbey, 16 days later.