The Prince of Wales has seen for himself the
ongoing difficulties for people living in areas
devastated by the recent flooding.
He spent Friday in North Yorkshire where
residents are still struggling to recover from
the worst floods in living memory.
In York, Prince Charles
visited flood damaged
homes and expressed
sympathy for those who
had been affected by
the high water.
He also thanked members of the Army and the
emergency services for their efforts.
"I can hardly believe how deep the water had
got. I do feel very much for everyone trying to
struggle," he said.
"It will take such a long time to dry anything
out. I think this is the worst time of all."
Thousands of homes and businesses across
the UK were hit by the flood waters two weeks
ago. Hundreds of people were evacuated and
river defences were strengthened with
sandbags.
Many people now faced
with clearing up their
property as the waters
subside say they were
not given enough
warning.
In York city centre
Prince Charles
inspected the immense
sandbagging operation
on the banks of the
River Ouse and
witnessed the havoc
the flood waters had wreaked on local
properties.
He visited the home of Margaret Walker in the
Rawcliffe area of the city, which was
inundated with two feet of water after the
Ouse burst its banks a fortnight ago.
Mrs Walker, a retired headteacher, has been
told it will be six months before she can live in
her house again.
The prince praised all the organisations which
worked to stop the flooding getting any worse
in the area, saying: "I think it's been
marvellous how everyone has pulled together.
~*~
Bank could sponsor William's
graduation(Electronic Telegraph)
By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent
THE University of St Andrews was warned yesterday against cashing in on
Prince William with a sponsorship deal for graduation ceremonies.
It is understood to be in talks with the Bank of Scotland about a five-year,
£250,000 agreement which would cover the prince's ceremony in 2005. The
sponsor's logo would be prominently displayed on the day, which would
attract media coverage around the world. Last year, the bank's main rival, the
Royal Bank of Scotland, sponsored ceremonies at Dundee University.
Its logo appeared alongside the university's badge on banners and
commemorative T-shirts, as well as featuring in the graduation booklet.
Details of the deal were not made public, so no estimate of the commercial
value of the 'Prince William factor' can be made. Kenny MacAskill, the
Scottish National Party's spokesman for further education, said the dignity of
the occasion must not be sacrificed to commercialism.
"We do not want to be told, 'and now, another word from our sponsor'. I
would also think the royal household would be concerned if the sponsor took
advantage of the prince's graduation by exploiting it in any way. We do not
want to see the sponsor's name appear on a giant banner behind Prince
William. My concern is that universities get the balance right. Graduation day
has to be about the graduates themselves, and not about commercial
companies."
But the university, where the prince is due to begin a four-year history of art
course next year, said it had been seeking sponsorship for the past two years
and would not exploit any student. A spokesman added that the move
"replicated a well-established practice by a number of leading British
universities". He added: "All universities in Britain have fund-raising
departments for whom it is standard practice to raise money for the institution,
from as broad a range of sources as possible."
St James's Palace said it understood the sponsorship deal "had been on the
cards for a number of years". A spokesman added: "It did not follow Prince
William's acknowledgment that he was accepting a place at the university, and
we are pretty relaxed about it all. Universities do this kind of thing these days,
and it is a fact of life." Dr Alan Wilson, a lecturer in marketing studies at
Strathclyde University, said the proposed agreement would be a "smart
move" for the university and the bank.
"The media coverage that will be done on Prince William's graduation alone
will be sufficient for the sponsor. Maybe the deal gives the bank a bit of
gravitas and a link with Scotland that it would like to have, but I can't see it
moving to graduation gowns with Bank of Scotland printed on them." A
spokesman for the bank did not deny that it was involved in talks, but said it
had "no immediate plans" to support the university.
The possibility of a deal emerged after the university decided to cut its wage
bill by £800,000. It has offered all staff a "release package" of voluntary or
early retirement after a report identified a £2 million deficit on its £60 million
turnover.
~*~
Charles praises Yorkshire grit(Electronic Telegraph)
THE Prince of Wales expressed his astonishment yesterday at the damage
caused by the recent flooding in York.
The Prince met residents who had to evacuate their
homes when the River Ouse overflowed its banks
two weeks ago. He was shown the house of
Margaret Walker, a retired headmistress, who has
been told it will be six months before she can live
there again. Mrs Walker returned home from
hospital after surgery to remove her gall bladder to
find water coming up her drive.
Twenty-four hours later she was carrying her
possessions upstairs as her downstairs rooms were
swamped by two feet of water. The Prince said: "I
can hardly believe how deep the water had got. I
do feel very much for everyone. It will take such a
long time to dry anything. This is the worst time of
all."
He praised all the organisations that worked to stop the flooding getting any
worse. "I think it's been marvellous how everyone has pulled together. I felt so
sorry for Margaret. She'd just had an operation and was struggling to lift
anything. Everyone is battling to get back to normal again. These disasters
bring the best out of people."
Mrs Walker is now staying with friends nearby. She said: "I no longer have a
home. When I come back I will be scared of it happening again and would
like some reassurance that it won't." The Prince also visited Naburn, which
was cut off by road for six days during the worst of the floods, and the village
of Barlby, which suffered some of the worst damage in the region.
~*~
Prince's Trust victimised black footballer (The Guardian)
A former Manchester City striker who was
victimised by staff of the Prince of Wales's
charity because he was black was offered
an unreserved apology yesterday.
Darren Beckford was made redundant by
the Prince's Trust 14 months after he
joined the charity, which aims to help
disadvantaged young people, many of
them from ethnic minorities.
An industrial tribunal ruled that he had
been unfairly dismissed and found that
John Scott, divisional director, and Janet
Gardner, assistant regional director, had
discriminated against him and victimised
him. Details of compensation will be
announced soon.
A spokeswoman for Prince Charles, who
was in Yorkshire yesterday surveying
flood damage, said: "Obviously, we are
very disappointed. The trust has an
impeccable record going back 25 years
on racial issues."
In a letter sent yesterday to Mr Beckford,
Tom Shebbeare, the trust's chief
executive, said the trust was rightly proud
of what it had done to encourage young
people from ethnic minorities. "But none
of that can excuse the discrimination
which you have obviously suffered. I hope
that we can meet next week so that I can
shake your hand and deliver these words
face to face."
The trust has launched an inquiry and its
findings will be reviewed by an external
body. Decisions on disciplinary
procedures will not be taken until the
review is complete.
Sir Herman Ouseley, former chairman of
the commission for racial equality and
chairman of the trust's ethnic minority
advisory group, will join discussions next
week to ensure the trust is not judge and
jury on its own case.
Mr Shebbeare said last night that the trust
had always prided itself on being good on
racial awareness.
He added: "An organisation such as ours
puts a huge amount of effort into race
awareness training. It may be that this is
not a most serious incident, a small thing
which is a one-off and to be explained; or
it may be something larger that we haven't
got right. My responsibility is to put it
right."
In a statement issued by his solicitor, Mr
Beckford said: "The trust does a wonderful
job and I love working with underprivileged
young people. The last few months have
been a nightmare for me and I am just
glad it is over and that my name has been
cleared. I feel I can hold my head up
again."
Mr Beckford joined the Prince's Trust in
September 1998 to lead a project in
Manchester for black and Asian young
people under the title Don't Let Us be a
Minority. He also worked with unemployed
young people aged 16 to 21.
"Over a period of several months, Darren
felt that he was being picked on," said his
solicitor, John Hewison. "A process was
started to get rid of him by unfair
allegations and interviews. He was also
suspended for no real reason.
"He was told that his job was redundant
and asked if he wanted to resign."