GREEDY Prince Andrew’s dodgy deals could bring down the monarchy – and he must be held to account, an expert has slammed.
The disgraced Duke of York has come to a commercial agreement with Dutch-based firm Startupbootcamp (SBC) to use contacts he made from his Pitch@Palace initiative which could earn him millions.
Under the agreement, the Prince, 64, is paid for each deal SBC strikes in territories worldwide.
Royal author and former Home Office minister Norman Baker told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show what Andrew has done is “out of order” and may well be illegal.
He said the data the duke is selling off doesn’t belong to him personally, but to the entrepreneurs the scheme was supposed to benefit.
Mr Baker said: “For him now to sell it off, is disreputable, it’s improper, it maybe illegal, and I intend to file a complaint with the Information Commission to suggest he’s breaking data protection laws by using information given for one purpose for an entirely different one.”
The expert added: “Prince Andrew has been interested in Prince Andrew and nothing else he might have been representing, such as the Royal Family.
“I’m afraid he’s a sleazeball… and he needs to be held to account for that.”
Officials from SBC pitched the moneymaking idea to Buckingham Palace officials last summer before the deal with Andrew was agreed.
Weeks later, the King pulled his £1million annual funding for his brother, who he had been trying to evict from Royal Lodge.
But Andrew has remained at his Windsor home and Palace sources have said they received assurances about his funding streams.
A source said: “He will earn money from each deal SBC secures from his Pitch@Palace work and the windfall will help enable him to hold on to Royal Lodge.
“It is a way of exploiting the enviable business links he has secured over the years.”
This is the first time Andrew has been known to do any work since he stepped down as a working royal before being stripped of his titles by the late Queen three years ago.
Scandal-hit Andrew had stepped away from the Pitch@Palace scheme, which matched entrepreneurs with investors, after his “car crash” Newsnight interview over links to dead paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Baker fumed: “Pitch@Palace was setup – and people engaged in that, companies, individuals, because they wanted to help start up businesses.
“They wanted to make sure entrepreneurs were assisted. They wanted to make sure the UK benefited as a country.
“It didn’t join up to give Andrew a source of private income.
“It was seen as a government, a public initiative. Buckingham Palace was used for this purpose.”
He added: “We can’t trust Prince Andrew and we haven’t been able to trust him for about 20 years, back to the time he was Britain’s Trade Envoy.
“It’s very clear from his engagements in that time – he was acting not for Britain, he was acting for himself.
“He was doing private deals on the side, getting commission from dodgy dictators for particular activities at that stage.”
Mr Baker referred to Andrew intending to take a two percent commission for deals which led to some people being “horrified”, before pulling out.
Kauan von Novack, CEO of Startupbootcamp said: “Our mission is to help entrepreneurs to create the change the world needs.
“We see immense value in the network built up by Pitch@Palace.”
A Palace source said: “Buckingham Palace officials have neither reviewed nor approved the details of any financial arrangements between the Duke or his advisers and any third party.”
The Duke of York was approached for comment.
AN EastEnders legend slammed his ‘disappointing’ soap exit – and revealed if bosses asked him to return for the 40th anniversary.
The show’s impressive milestone has seen a number of past characters brought back on-screen.
Michael Greco played Beppe di Marco in the BBC soap from 1998 to 2002.
Over two decades on, the 54-year-old addressed his character’s low-key exit from Albert Square.
He told FruitySlots.com: “There were circumstances that prevented me from having a bigger send off, I won’t go into them as it’s water under the bridge.
“But I just left in a cab, didn’t I? I said goodbye to Lynn in the cafe and then had a packet of crisps and drove to Leicester. “
The Di Marco family were introduced to EastEnders as rivals to the Mitchell clan.
Alongside Beppe, the line-up also included brother Gianni (Marc Bannerman) and younger sisters Teresa (Leila Birch) and Nicky (Carly Hillman).
Of the family, it was Beppe who ultimately lasted the longest in Walford.
Elsewhere in his chat, Michael addressed whether he had ever been asked to return – especially in light of the 40th anniversary.
Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) are among the familiar faces who have reappeared.
Michael revealed: “I left over 20 years ago and there hasn’t been a day they’ve contacted my agent to ask me to come back.
“That’s fine. I don’t have any ties to any of the characters. There’s no link to bring me back.
“If the writers wanted you back they would create something.”
Continuing, Michael added: “One of the writers, Lilie Ferrari, who created the family originally, has always wanted the family to come back but it’s not going to happen.
“They’ve brought back a lot of people for the 40th anniversary just to dip their toe in.
“I haven’t been asked so if it was going to happen, it would have. I don’t think it ever will.”
He concluded: “It’s one of those things that it would be great to go back to but I don’t see it happening.”
EastEnders continues on BBC One and iPlayer.
With the 40th anniversary of EastEnders coming up, fans are looking forward to some more incredible cameos from iconic faces of Walford's past. But who have we had so far?
Tracy-Ann Oberman – Oberman returned as Chrissie Watts, a character she last played nearly two decades ago.
Paul Bradley – Bradley returned as Nigel Bates, a character he last played over 25 years ago.
Micheal French – French returned as David Wicks, a character he last played two decades ago.
Patsy Palmer – Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson, a character she last played in 2019.
Coming up this year…
Ross Kemp – Kemp will reprise his role as Grant Mitchell, a character he first played in 1990. The BBC has described Kemp’s storyline as “explosive”. Kemp said it was an “absolute honour” to return to the show.
Other aspects of the 40th anniversary celebration include: A wedding between fan favorites, A huge explosion at the Queen Vic, and A live interactive episode.
POUNDLAND shoppers are going wild for adorable Jellycat dupes that cost much less than the originals.
The cute toys are attracting legions of fans and they’re set to be even cheaper from next week.
The soft toys are available in Poundland stores nationwide for £3 each.
But, from next week shoppers will be able to pick up two up for £5.
The toys come in a number of cute designs similarly to their original Jellycat counterparts.
These include popcorn buckets, mustard pots, mushrooms, sweetcorn ears and broccoli florets.
And, they all have names including Colin, Stan, Blake, Jenny, Heidi, Olsen, Erin, Gail and Bobby.
Shoppers have been going wild for the toys since pictures were posted to the Extreme Couponing and Bargains Facebook Group.
One said: “So cute!”
Another added: “I NEED THEM ALL.”
A third said: “I need every single one of these.”
Another said: “I want them all.”
The toys come in far cheaper than the originals. For example Jellycat’s broccoli toy is priced at £18 and its popcorn toy at £28.
Poundland is not the first retailer to stock a range of Jellycat dupes – Aldi, Lidl and Tesco have all unveiled their own collections in recent weeks.
Aldi’s set of six soft toys have been available in stores from January 30 for £3.99.
Meanwhile Lidl has launched a £2.99 Jellycat dupe in popular designs including a croissant.
And Tesco launched a special Valentine’s Day range with prices starting from £4 each.
The dupes come after British toy company, Jellycats, swept the internet by storm with people paying hundreds of pounds for just one.
Multiple social media creators have posted hauls from the store with thousands of posts under the relevant hashtag on TikTok and Instagram.
Its line of “vivacious” vegetable toys were even endorsed by Kylie Jenner back in 2020.
HERE are the British Toy and Hobby Association's top tips for buying toys online:
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
A COUPLE have been charged £38,000 by their council after missing an email while building their dream home.
Ruth Pitt and her husband began building a downsized home in 2020, but the week they received planning permission coincided with a series of devastating events.
Mr Pitt was diagnosed with dementia and, at the same time, she missed an email stating she needed to inform the district council when they had started their build.
She then received a demand for £38,000 for getting the paperwork wrong and threatened with seizure or prison if she did not pay.
Mrs Pitt told the BBC: “I actually couldn’t believe it when I opened the email – it made me feel physically sick.
“We were already under pressure to keep our project under budget and then we get this huge demand out of the blue with very draconian measures to collect it.
“If I’d committed some sort of serious crime or had a misdemeanour, I could appeal against that but I cannot appeal against the CIL – they will not allow an appeal.”
A Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge that local authorities can impose on new developments in their area.
The CIL applies to all proposals that add 100m squared of new floorspace or an extra dwelling.
The amount paid is the increase in floorspace per metre-squared multiplied by the rate in the CIL charging schedule.
Horsham District Council said: “We can’t comment on individual cases but its important to recognise the council must consider any CIL matters in accordance with national legislation.
“There are areas of the legislation where the council has no discretion to make a different decision if due process wasn’t followed.”
Leader of the Council, Martin Boffey added: “In the light of recent queries about our process we will revisit our CIL procedure to see if there are any areas where we can make improvements.
“I sympathise with people both locally and nationally who must suffer a huge shock when they receive large CIL bills that they are not expecting.
“At present, the Council’s hands are tied to a large extent by national legislation, so I am keen to work with our MPs to get changes made to the law to prevent these issues arising in future.”
The issue comes after the leader of West Berkshire Council Jeff Brooks said he reimbursed a couple who were accidentally charged by the local authority.
He dubbed CIL charges for homeowners across the UK “a national scandal”, adding that HDC is in the “wrong”.
Mr Brooks said he has emailed Martin Boffey, the leader of HDC, and offered to show him how they paid people back.
It comes after a retired couple from Godalming were given a £70,000 CIL charge after they replaced an existing house extension.
Independent planning consultant Alex Bateman said the complicated exemption process is “tripping a lot of people up”.
Meanwhile, homeowners in one street say they’ve been threatened with fines for parking outside their own homes.
Residents in a Southampton estate say they are at risk of being hit with penalties after their council painted double yellow lines right outside their properties.
