Royal secrets to be protected

A new law has taken effect in the UK meaning private details of leading royals will be kept secret for decades.

Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Prince William - who is set to marry fiancee Kate Middleton in April - are among those being exempted from Freedom of Information laws, a move Justice Secretary Ken Clarke claims will help protect their private conversations with politicians and other officials.

However, some have criticised the move claiming it will mean information people want to know will remain kept away from public scrutiny.

Maurice Frankel from the Campaign for Freedom of Information claimed previous laws which allowed for release of details if it was in the public interest would no longer be worthwhile.

He said: "It at least raised the possibility that information could be disclosed. What the changes do is remove the public interest test - exemption becomes absolute."

Maurice added the move would allow some - such as Prince Charles - to "lobby" ministers about his own projects, something the second-in-line to the British throne has been known to do.

He said: "What he's doing in some of these cases is obviously lobbying. That raises the question whether he should still enjoy the special protection that the monarch and the heir to the throne traditionally get."

The new law comes as part of the constitutional Reform and Governance Act, which the UK government has previously claimed is being implemented to open up "public bodies to public scrutiny".