Queen wants more 'respect'

2004-06-23 10:05

London - Britain's Queen Elizabeth has stepped up the number of meetings she has with top civil servants for fear of being kept in the dark by Prime Minister Tony Blair, a British newspaper said in its Wednesday edition.

The Daily Express tabloid said the monarch had increased her briefings on government policy from permanent secretaries - who run large government departments - amid reports of a growing gulf between Buckingham Palace and Blair's office.

According to the newspaper, the prime minister's regular globetrotting and habit of forming policy via a tiny number of advisers has left the queen feeling "out of the loop".

It reported that there have been times recently - including during the run-up to the Iraq war - when the queen and the prime minister, who usually hold regular meetings, have not seen each other for several weeks.

Those close to the queen told the newspaper she has been upset by several incidents in recent months, including Blair's abolition of the ancient post of Lord Chancellor - the government's top legal adviser - and his sudden U-turn on holding a referendum on the European Union constitution.

Least respectful

"The queen feels Mr Blair is the least respectful of all the prime ministers who have served her," one source close to the queen was quoted as saying.

"There have been several important issues on which she has been kept out of the loop," the unnamed source said.

"She was not as intimately involved in the planning of the D-Day commemorations as she would have liked, she was not properly sighted on issues surrounding the Iraq war and she is currently very worried about reductions in the armed forces," the source said.

Blair is the 10th prime minister to have served the queen.

He met with her on Tuesday night, but Downing Street refused to comment on her decision to have closer contacts with senior civil servants, the Daily Express said.

- AFP