Fred Goodwin flies in to see Prince Charles

The disgraced banker leaves his Riviera bolthole for a controversial visit to Clarence House

LAST UPDATED 8:24 AM, JULY 22, 2009

Prince Charles gave two fingers to public opinion yesterday by inviting the disgraced banker Sir Fred Goodwin and his wife Joyce to a private meeting at Clarence House. The former RBS boss emerged from hiding on the French Riviera so that Charles could thank him for the six years he spent as chairman of the Prince's Trust.

Goodwin, who it emerged in June is now living with his family in a handsome rented house near Cannes, was chauffeur-driven in and out of Clarence House and was later seen at Heathrow boarding the 5.15 BA flight back to Nice.

An airport source for the Mirror said the man who took RBS to the brink of bankruptcy - it had to be rescued by taxpayers at the cost of $20bn - appeared desperate to go unnoticed. "Sir Fred looked like any other passenger queuing to board the plane. His wife was wheeling a suitcase and he was clutching a plastic bag."

There were mixed reports last night as to whether Sir Fred and his wife were treated to a "slap-up meal" (the Daily Mirror) or "organic apple juice and pastries' (the Daily Mail). But it is not disputed that the two-hour visit took place.

A Clarence House spokesman said: "During his time as chairman he has helped to improve the lives of more than 200,000 young people and the Prince of Wales is very grateful for all his hard work and support."

A spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance said of Charles's decision: "A lot of right-minded people would see this as completely inappropriate. A huge amount of taxpayers' money had to go into cleaning up the mess left by Sir Fred, and even more has been exposed to a high level of risk. This shows a staggering lack of judgment on the part of Clarence House."

The Prince has appointed Charles Dunstone, founder of Carphone Warehouse, to replace Goodwin as chairman of the Prince's Trust.

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Perhaps if Sir Fred Goodwin had spent more time on his day job instead of involving himself in vanity projects such as the Princes Trust he may not have damaged so many people. Pension funds who had invested in RBS, employees who worked there and subsequently lost their jobs, individuals who bought shares in the company and many others all suffered while Sir Fred, knighted for his services to finance was rewarded for failure. The billions of pounds of tax payers money that have been invested to save RBS could have been spent on other things that would really have improved peoples lives. Prince Charles does himself a disservice by meeting with this man.

Posted by Manny Goldstein at 11:05am on July 22, 2009

Talking to trees is harmless. Preaching to architects is irritating but harmless. Inviting that idiot into tea is stupid, insulting and contemptible. What does that oaf who is supposedly going to be our next monarch think he is about?

Posted by barton keys at 1:55pm on July 22, 2009

Really all these 'barrow' boy illiterates (including the one at Northern Rock) cannot be faulted for their greed and chance at empire building - ethics or family pedigree are not in their make-up. The GOD of capitalism is capital - how the governments of the world (except China) have sat back allowing these lower forms of life to stand at the gates of capital (the banks),with unfettered powers, with hindsight seems utterly ludicrous. The fault lies with the incompetents,idiots, freemasons,old boy network and political appointees at the FSA, who were employed to regulate such lowlife, but fell hopelessly short. They are not commiting hara kiri, and the Conservatives are right the FSA should be disbanded.

Posted by Iqbal Halani at 5:04pm on July 22, 2009