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| Royal official handling press charter won damages over reporter's SAS claim | Royal official handling press charter won damages over reporter's SAS claim |
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| This article is the subject of a complaint made on behalf of Buckingham Palace | |
| The senior royal official tasked with handling the creation of a royal charter to regulate the press is a former military intelligence officer who successfully sued an investigative journalist who had sought to question his activities in Cambodia in the 1980s. | The senior royal official tasked with handling the creation of a royal charter to regulate the press is a former military intelligence officer who successfully sued an investigative journalist who had sought to question his activities in Cambodia in the 1980s. |
| Sir Christopher Geidt, who is the Queen's private secretary, won a high-court libel action against John Pilger and Central Television in 1991. Uncertainty around Geidt's role in Cambodia sparked a debate at the time in parliament that included questions over his possible links to MI6 or the British military. | Sir Christopher Geidt, who is the Queen's private secretary, won a high-court libel action against John Pilger and Central Television in 1991. Uncertainty around Geidt's role in Cambodia sparked a debate at the time in parliament that included questions over his possible links to MI6 or the British military. |
| Geidt and another former army officer, Anthony de Normann, said Pilger's documentary wrongly accused them of being SAS officers who trained the Khmer Rouge to lay mines. | Geidt and another former army officer, Anthony de Normann, said Pilger's documentary wrongly accused them of being SAS officers who trained the Khmer Rouge to lay mines. |
| According to Pilger, who said he never intended to make any such allegation, the defence collapsed after the government issued a gagging order citing national security that prevented three ministers and two former heads of the SAS from giving evidence about Geidt. | According to Pilger, who said he never intended to make any such allegation, the defence collapsed after the government issued a gagging order citing national security that prevented three ministers and two former heads of the SAS from giving evidence about Geidt. |
| The aggressive intervention – likened to the 1987 Spycatcher case involving a government bid to suppress material about spying – also meant the judge would be asked to rule out any evidence that related to the SAS and the security services such as MI6 and their involvement in the Asian country. Pilger and Central Television had to pay Geidt and De Normann substantial damages and costs. | The aggressive intervention – likened to the 1987 Spycatcher case involving a government bid to suppress material about spying – also meant the judge would be asked to rule out any evidence that related to the SAS and the security services such as MI6 and their involvement in the Asian country. Pilger and Central Television had to pay Geidt and De Normann substantial damages and costs. |
| Geidt's current position makes him the principal link between the Queen and Downing Street on all political matters, including the proposed royal charter, which must be issued by the monarch to allow the creation of a new body to supervise the regulation of the press in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal and the Leveson inquiry. | Geidt's current position makes him the principal link between the Queen and Downing Street on all political matters, including the proposed royal charter, which must be issued by the monarch to allow the creation of a new body to supervise the regulation of the press in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal and the Leveson inquiry. |
| Ultimately, any royal charter has to be sealed by the Queen in the presence of the privy council, of which Nick Clegg is the president. The picture is complicated by the fact that there are two royal charters in circulation – a document drawn up with the agreement of all three party leaders, and a second produced at the behest of the five largest newspaper groups. | Ultimately, any royal charter has to be sealed by the Queen in the presence of the privy council, of which Nick Clegg is the president. The picture is complicated by the fact that there are two royal charters in circulation – a document drawn up with the agreement of all three party leaders, and a second produced at the behest of the five largest newspaper groups. |
| Royal charters, which date back to at least the 13th century, are supposed only to be granted in non-contentious circumstances, but the hostility of some publishers has presented the palace with a constitutional dilemma, in which the role of officials such as the Queen's private secretary are likely to be critical. Bodies applying for charters are warned to expect "a significant degree of government regulation of [their] affairs". | Royal charters, which date back to at least the 13th century, are supposed only to be granted in non-contentious circumstances, but the hostility of some publishers has presented the palace with a constitutional dilemma, in which the role of officials such as the Queen's private secretary are likely to be critical. Bodies applying for charters are warned to expect "a significant degree of government regulation of [their] affairs". |
| Geidt's position mean he has a direct line to Sir Jeremy Heywood, the cabinet secretary, on political matters. Civil servants at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport say that Geidt has been "kept updated" on the progress of the royal charter proposals – although Buckingham Palace said his role was "to make sure the Queen is informed of developments and is in the right place at the right time in order to act on the advice of government". | Geidt's position mean he has a direct line to Sir Jeremy Heywood, the cabinet secretary, on political matters. Civil servants at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport say that Geidt has been "kept updated" on the progress of the royal charter proposals – although Buckingham Palace said his role was "to make sure the Queen is informed of developments and is in the right place at the right time in order to act on the advice of government". |
| The 1991 libel case came after Geidt and De Normann travelled to Cambodia in 1989 and joined an international party observing the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from the conflict-ridden state. In a debate on Cambodia in the Commons in 1990, the Labour MP Ann Clwyd said she was on the same mission and met the men but was not convinced by their explanation that they were on holiday. | The 1991 libel case came after Geidt and De Normann travelled to Cambodia in 1989 and joined an international party observing the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from the conflict-ridden state. In a debate on Cambodia in the Commons in 1990, the Labour MP Ann Clwyd said she was on the same mission and met the men but was not convinced by their explanation that they were on holiday. |
| Geidt had been working for the Royal United Services Institute when he arrived in Phnom Penh. He went on to work in military intelligence and as a diplomat in the former Yugoslavia at the time of Bosnian war. | Geidt had been working for the Royal United Services Institute when he arrived in Phnom Penh. He went on to work in military intelligence and as a diplomat in the former Yugoslavia at the time of Bosnian war. |
| The parliamentary visit came at a time of numerous allegations of British military support for resistance factions in Cambodia, one of which was the Khmer Rouge. | The parliamentary visit came at a time of numerous allegations of British military support for resistance factions in Cambodia, one of which was the Khmer Rouge. |
| In the same debate on Cambodia, Chris Mullin MP said that Geidt had obtained a visa to travel from the Vietnamese embassy claiming he was "a representative of RUSI" and he signed himself "assistant director" on RUSI notepaper. This was "economical with the truth", Mullin told the Commons. | In the same debate on Cambodia, Chris Mullin MP said that Geidt had obtained a visa to travel from the Vietnamese embassy claiming he was "a representative of RUSI" and he signed himself "assistant director" on RUSI notepaper. This was "economical with the truth", Mullin told the Commons. |
| David Bolton, then director of RUSI, had told Mullin that Geidt "did not travel to Vietnam and Cambodia as a representative of RUSI, and had no business to be passing himself off as such". Neither was Geidt assistant director but an assistant to the director responsible for fund raising; he was self-employed and his job had nothing to do with Cambodia, Mullin said Bolton told him. | David Bolton, then director of RUSI, had told Mullin that Geidt "did not travel to Vietnam and Cambodia as a representative of RUSI, and had no business to be passing himself off as such". Neither was Geidt assistant director but an assistant to the director responsible for fund raising; he was self-employed and his job had nothing to do with Cambodia, Mullin said Bolton told him. |
| The MoD separately told Mullin that Geidt and De Normann were visiting Cambodia at the invitation of the Hanoi Institute of International Relations, but again Mullin claimed in parliament "that is not true". Covering letters and visa applications showed it was at their own initiative, he said. | The MoD separately told Mullin that Geidt and De Normann were visiting Cambodia at the invitation of the Hanoi Institute of International Relations, but again Mullin claimed in parliament "that is not true". Covering letters and visa applications showed it was at their own initiative, he said. |
| Clwyd saw they were on the official mission guest list as "Fonctionairre de L'Institut de Researche Min Defence", but they told her they were on holiday. | Clwyd saw they were on the official mission guest list as "Fonctionairre de L'Institut de Researche Min Defence", but they told her they were on holiday. |
| This was puzzling because "even if one is an ex-military man, I doubt whether one would spend a holiday in Cambodia … watching people kill one another," she told the Commons. | This was puzzling because "even if one is an ex-military man, I doubt whether one would spend a holiday in Cambodia … watching people kill one another," she told the Commons. |
| They seemed to be "very hostile to Cambodia" and Clwyd said they asked for help to get to the frontline "because they wanted to look at some of the fighting at first hand". | They seemed to be "very hostile to Cambodia" and Clwyd said they asked for help to get to the frontline "because they wanted to look at some of the fighting at first hand". |
| The next day, on a sightseeing trip to the temples of Angkor Wat, her suspicions grew. "I noticed that they were pointing their telescopic lenses towards the undergrowth surrounding Angkor Wat rather than the temples themselves," she said. | The next day, on a sightseeing trip to the temples of Angkor Wat, her suspicions grew. "I noticed that they were pointing their telescopic lenses towards the undergrowth surrounding Angkor Wat rather than the temples themselves," she said. |
| Clwyd also settled and paid costs to Geidt and De Normann, who took action against her when she wrote to Margaret Thatcher after Pilger's documentary, calling for a public inquiry and suggesting the allegations were accurate. | Clwyd also settled and paid costs to Geidt and De Normann, who took action against her when she wrote to Margaret Thatcher after Pilger's documentary, calling for a public inquiry and suggesting the allegations were accurate. |
| Buckingham Palace declined to answer questions put to Geidt about the apparent inconsistencies. "He didn't comment on the accusations at the time and as then, he will let the legal judgments speak for themselves," a Buckingham Palace spokesman said. | Buckingham Palace declined to answer questions put to Geidt about the apparent inconsistencies. "He didn't comment on the accusations at the time and as then, he will let the legal judgments speak for themselves," a Buckingham Palace spokesman said. |