PRINCE William has been slammed after hosting an event at a Scottish venue with close ties to a well-known convicted drug dealer.
The heir to the throne held talks at the Union Kirk in Aberdeen city centre as part of a promotional push for his anti-homelessness project Homewards – despite the venue’s links with cocaine dealer Paul Clarkson.
Clarkson is the son of Portugal-based publican Stuart Clarkson, who owns a number of boozers in the granite city, including the Union Kirk.
Paul Clarkson was in April this year ordered to pay back the £65,000 he was accused of making in profit from pushing the Class A drug, of which the courts said he had paid back £40,000.
In December 2021, he was sentenced to eight months in prison after being caught with more than £1600 worth of cocaine – which he claimed to have been selling to fund his own habit – at a lockdown-busting party at one of his dad’s venues, the Draft Project.
Documents show Aberdeen City Council received scores of complaints about the venue, with the Clarkson family blamed for encouraging lockdown breaches when Covid was still rife.
One furious Aberdeen local told the Sunday National he thought it was “absolutely disgusting” William had visited the Union Kirk last week, owing to its ownership by the Clarkson family.
He said: “Even the local bobbies were disgusted. Terrible message to send to people.”
Graham Smith (below), head of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, said the visit called into question Prince William’s judgement.
He said: “Prince William’s homeless project has been all show and little substance from the start. So it doesn’t surprise me that he hasn’t bothered to do some due diligence on who he’s working with.
“This obviously raises questions as to what money was paid for the use of the facilities and what kind of operation William is backing when the people involved have less than stellar reputations. There must be lots of other venues and charities that could have hosted the event. Why did he choose that one?”
Another Aberdeen resident quipped: “With Charlie being his dad, it makes perfect sense for Prince William to visit.”
Speaking to The Press And Journal at the time of Paul Clarkson’s trial, dad Stuart dismissed a comment from his other son Jordan threatening to ban people who discussed the firm’s involvement with lockdown breaches from all the family’s venues.
Stuart also refused to be drawn on whether it would be appropriate for Paul to continue as operations director for the family firm, PB Development Company.
There is no suggestion Prince William (above) has ever taken illegal drugs, but his brother Prince Harry in his 2023 memoir Spare admitted to smoking cannabis and having once taken cocaine – though he said it “didn’t do anything for me”.
In 2008, Prince William was involved in a drug raid while attached to HMS Iron Duke which saw around £40 million worth of cocaine seized from a speedboat by US coastguard officers in the Atlantic, north-east of Barbados.
Kensington Palace declined to comment.
Union Kirk did not respond to requests for comment.
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