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Report alleges Charles accepted 1 mn pound donation from Bin Laden’s family

“The decision to accept was taken by the charity’s trustees alone and any attempt to characterize it otherwise is false,” the statement added…reports Asian Lite News

UK’s Prince Charles, the longest-serving heir apparent to the throne in British history, accepted a donation of 1 million pounds (USD 1.21 million) from the family of Osama bin Laden IN 2013.

As first reported by The Sunday Times of London, The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund received the donation in 2013 from the brothers Bakr and Shafiq bin Laden, half-brothers of Osama bin Laden, the founder of Al Qaeda and architect of the September 11 attacks, quoted The New York Times (NYT). Clarence House confirmed that the terrorist’s brothers donated money to the royal charity, but denied reports that the prince had personally brokered the deal or made the decision to accept it.

“The Prince of Wales’ Charitable Fund has assured us that thorough due diligence was undertaken in accepting this donation,” read a statement released by Clarence House.

“The decision to accept was taken by the charity’s trustees alone and any attempt to characterize it otherwise is false,” the statement added.

News of the payment follows a series of recent royal scandals, including a report in June that Prince Charles had accepted USD 3.1 million in cash donations from a Qatari billionaire between 2011 and 2015, some of which was received personally in a suitcase and shopping bags, reported NYT.

The UK paper reported that Prince Charles had brokered the payment after a private meeting with Bakr bin Laden at Clarence House in London on October 30, 2013, two years after Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan.

The paper also reported that the heir to the throne had agreed to accept the donation despite the vocal objections of his own advisers, reported NYT.

Some of the prince’s aides had warned Charles of the inevitable blowback should it become known that his charity had accepted money from the family of the man who orchestrated the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, including 67 Britons.

A royal official, unauthorized to speak publicly, denied that the prince accepted the donation, negotiated the deal or was advised to return the money, reported NYT.

Founded in 1979, The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund says that its mission is “to transform lives and build sustainable communities by awarding grants to a wide range of good causes within our core funding themes: heritage and conservation, education, health and well-being, social inclusion, environment and countryside.” (ANI)

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Bin Laden’s former spokesman allowed into Britain

A High Court judge has sanctioned the order — and it has emerged that Bary’s immigration status is under review by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel…reports Asian Lite News

Osama bin Laden’s former alleged spin doctor, who was jailed abroad for his role in deadly bombings, was let back into the UK after only speaking to officials for an hour, The Daily Mirror has reported.

Adel Abdel Bary returned to Britain in 2020 after being released eight years into his 25-year sentence for involvement in the Al-Qaeda bombing of two US embassies in East Africa in 1998 that killed 224 people.

Bary was extradited from the UK in 2012 and served just eight years of his sentence in the US after being released on compassionate grounds. He was considered high risk from COVID-19 because of his obesity and asthma.

During a hearing into the ongoing monitoring of the alleged spin doctor, it has been revealed that officials spoke to Bary for only 60 minutes on a video call to the US before he was allowed to return to the UK and rejoin his family.

Documents cited by the UK newspaper said that “Bary has had previous and significant involvement with Al-Qaeda. Bary’s current mindset and extremist ideology is largely unknown and untested.

“It is assessed by SO15 that he does pose a risk to security of the UK, even if the extent … is difficult to quantify.

“From the recent initial risk interview … Bary has commented he has no desire to reoffend or reengage upon return to the UK and wishes to rebuild family relationships, posing no threat to the UK.

“Although initially positive, this commitment is untested and would require assessment over time following release and reintegration in the community.

“Accordingly, Bary’s commitment to desist and disengage are also untested.”

In February, Bary challenged a Scotland Yard monitoring order, saying it would exacerbate post-traumatic stress disorder “associated with imprisonment and torture in Egypt, then imprisonment in the UK and US.”

A High Court judge has sanctioned the order — and it has emerged that Bary’s immigration status is under review by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel.

The judgment said that “Bary is not subject to license conditions. But the Home Secretary is reviewing his immigration status and he has been subject to immigration bail conditions and restricted leave to remain.”

The Home Office has said that “safety and security is the first priority and the police, security and intelligence agencies have a range of powers available to manage individuals.”

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