Andrew: Under pressure

London, March 11: The Duke of York should be sacked as trade envoy “as soon as possible” because he is doing “serious damage” to the Royal family and to Britain, a former ambassador has told ministers.

Stephen Day, a former head of the Foreign Office’s West Asia section, took the highly unusual step of writing to three Whitehall departments, making an impassioned plea for the government to end the duke’s “embarrassing” activities.

Day, whose letter has been obtained by The Daily Telegraph, said the duke was the “worst person” to deploy in countries such as Qatar, where his presence was seen as “crass”.

He also alleged that the Duke had held a “worrying” private meeting with Col. Gaddafi three years ago at the home of Sakher el-Materi, the son-in-law of the recently ousted Tunisian President, and described by Day as “the worst of all the crooks in the presidential family”.

In another development, The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the duke could be asked to give evidence in two separate legal cases involving his friend Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile.

The latest disclosures will increase pressure on the duke to resign as Britain’s special representative for trade and investment, following weeks of controversy over his relationships with Epstein and a host of other business contacts.