All things neo-traditional

Richard Rogers, the architect who was sacked last week from a multibillion pound development in London after Prince Charles complained about his designs, has accused the prince of "an abuse of power" and "unconstitutional" behaviour.Speaking for the first time since the Qatari royal family abandoned his plans to build 552 new homes on the site of ­Chelsea barracks, Rogers called for a national inquiry into whether the prince has a constitutional right to become involved in matters such as planning applications which have economic, political and social ramifications.The 75-year old Labour peer claimed the prince "single-handedly destroyed the project" and attacked him for using his influence behind closed doors to persuade the Qatari royal family, which owns the site, to drop his scheme. He said by interfering in the democratic planning process, the prince had broken "a bond of trust" with the British public.Last week, the Qataris withdrew a planning application that had taken two and a half years to prepare. The prince had written to Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, the Qatari prime minister, complaining Rogers' designs were "unsuitable" for a site so close to Sir Christopher Wren's Royal Hospital.The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, a charity of which Charles is president, has been appointed to help design an alternative scheme at Chelsea Barracks. "Bringing in the foundation, his own boys if you like, is unbelievably questionable," said Rogers. "I absolutely don't think this is acceptable. It is directly self-serving and is unconstitutional."He called for the creation of a committee of independent constitutional experts to vet Charles's involvement not just in architecture, but in other areas where he expresses an opinion, including medicine, agriculture and the environment."The prince always goes round the back to wield his influence, using phone calls or in the case of the Chelsea barracks, a private letter," Rogers said. "It is an abuse of power because he is not willing to debate. He has made his representations two and a half years late and anyone but him would have been shown the door. We should examine the ethics of this situation. Someone who is unelected, will not debate but will use the power bestowed by his birth-right must be questioned."The former planning minister Nick Raynsford has described the prince's intervention as "almost feudal". Speaking on BBC radio he said it was "a very dangerous precedent". "The heir to the throne intervenes in a decision that should be taken through normal democratic process."Clarence House, which has always refused to confirm or deny that Charles wrote to the Qatari prime minister, about the project, declined to comment tonight.Rogers said the prince's actions have raised a new threat to investment in the UK from abroad, at a time when the economy needs a boost."Investors put their money into Britain because they can expect a good return and transparency," he said.He added that up to 10,000 people could have worked on the construction site and that the 226 affordable homes, half of the project, may not now be built.Rogers said he was "very upset" by the decision to scrap his project, which he believed was set to be one of the best designs his office has ever produced. He revealed that when he heard, two months ago, that the prince was opposing the scheme he thought "here we go again".This is at least the third time the prince has intervened to have his practice removed from projects, he said. Other schemes include a plan for Paternoster Square beside St Paul's cathedral in 1987 and designs for the Royal Opera House.