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1st LD Writethru: British Queen remains "politically neutral" in EU referendum

Xinhua, March 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Buckingham Palace complained Wednesday to the press watchdog after local newspaper the Sun reported that the Queen backed Brexit.

The Sun's front page story said that the Queen "let rip" at the then Deputy PM Nick Clegg during a lunch at Windsor Castle in 2011, saying that "she believed the EU was heading in the wrong direction."

The Sun said the information was given by a "highly reliable source", and the conversation during the lunch also stunned other guests.

The senior source told the Sun that "People who heard their conversation were left in no doubt at all about the Queen's views on European integration" and "The EU is clearly something Her Majesty feels passionately about."

"We can confirm that we have this morning written to the chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organization to register a complaint about the front page story in today's Sun newspaper," said a Buckingham Palace spokesman, adding the complaint relates to clause one of the Editors' Code of Practice.

Buckingham Palace earlier insisted that the Queen is "politically neutral" in the forthcoming EU referendum campaign.

"The Queen remains politically neutral, as she has for 63 years," said Buckingham Palace, adding that they would never comment on spurious, anonymously sourced claims.

"The referendum will be a matter for the British people," a palace spokesman said.

"This is nonsense. I've no recollection of this happening & its not the sort of thing I would forget," Nick Clegg wrote on his Twitter. Endit