NOTE: Peter Mandelson, widely known as the "Prince of Darkness", twice had to resign in disgrace as a Blair Minister, before being appointed an unelected EU Trade Commissioner and then a Lord on Tony Blair's recommendation. As a Trade Commissioner, Mandelson attracted further controversy because of his close personal ties to wealthy businessmen whose interests were directly affected by EU trade policy.
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Peter Mandelson: Prince Charles's remarks on GM crops 'irresponsible'
Nicholas Watt
The Guardian, 15 July 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/15/mandelson-blair-prince-charles-gm

*Tony Blair asked Mandelson to tell royal to stop 'unhelpful' attempts to influence government policy, according to memoirs

Tony Blair asked Peter Mandelson to tell the Prince of Wales to stop his "unhelpful" attempts to influence government policy on genetically modified crops.

In a sign of the private irritation among ministers at the prince's interference over the years, Mandelson accuses him of being "anti-scientific and irresponsible", in the third instalment of his memoirs.

Mandelson writes that he regularly received representations from Prince Charles, who has been writing to ministers for more than 20 years.

"Interested as he was in issues from architecture to agriculture, after Diana's death Charles would write me notes about areas of public policy which he believed to be misguided," Mandelson writes.

He continues: "I would always answer and of course pass on his views to Tony. At times I would be the carrier of messages in the other direction, for example when Charles began publicly to speak out against genetically modified crops ...

"Like Tony, I felt his remarks were becoming unhelpful. I thought they were anti-scientific and irresponsible in the light of food shortages in the developing world."

He adds: "I am sure Charles did not change his mind as a result of our conversation, but he did tone down his public interventions on the subject."