The Duke of York faces new criticism over links to the possible sale of British military equipment to Indonesia amid fears that it could used against tribesmen loyal to the Queen.
Prince Andrew was reported to have been summoned by the Queen to discuss his future as a trade envoy over fears that damaging revelations about his role threaten to tarnish preparations for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
He is already under pressure over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, an American billionaire convicted of sex offences against young girls, and his support for trade with countries with questionable human rights records.
Last night he was accused of helping to facilitate talks about potential sales of military equipment to Indonesia despite a ban on defence exports after allegations that British-built jets were used to bomb civilians.
The Duke met the Indonesian President and trade minister at separate meetings in January in his role as a UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.
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His involvement has been criticised by campaigners from West Papua, a province fighting for independence from Indonesia. It claims that opposition groups have been bombed by military jets supplied by Britain.
Benny Wenda, a leader of the independence movement, said that he was preparing to write to the Duke appealing for him to withdraw support for the resumption of arms sales.
“The Queen is held in very high regard in West Papua and many people see her as the mother of our country because of her support for the independence of Malaysia,” said Mr Wenda, the leader of the Koteka tribe, who is in exile in Oxford.
“We are disappointed that Prince Andrew appears to have been used in a bid by the Indonesian Government to obtain weapons. Even if they guarantee not to use them on civilians, history shows that they cannot be trusted.
“I will be writing to the Prince and asking for his support to prevent British weapons being used to kill us.”
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Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, had raised concerns about human rights in West Papua with Indonesian ministers at the Asia-Europe Summit in October last year.
But The Times revealed yesterday that the Indonesian authorities had made an informal approach to the Government about the possibility of buying the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The Ministry of Defence said there were “no current plans” to sell the Typhoon to Indonesia, but Gerald Howarth, a defence minister, will attend a meeting in Jakarta in two weeks. BAE Systems has said it has already offered to upgrade Indonesia’s existing Hawk jets.
A former British ambassador to the Middle East has called for Prince Andrew to be sacked from his position as a trade envoy, and said that his activities were doing “such serious damage” to Britain’s reputation that he should be moved to an “entirely new role”.
Stephen Day, former head of the Foreign Office’s Middle East section, wrote to three Whitehall departments calling for an end to the Duke’s role, and said that he was the “worst person” to deploy in some Middle Eastern countries. Mr Day also said in some countries the Duke’s presence was seen as “crass”.