24 May,2010 02:19 PM IST | | Agencies
The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, has apologised after she was filmed demanding 500,000 pounds to introduce an undercover reporter posing as an Indian businessman to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, who is a British trade envoy.
Ferguson said she was devastated and deeply regretful over the cash-for-access scandal. She accepted 40,000 dollars cash deposit from the reporter, Daily Express reported on Monday.
The 500,000-pound deal was to introduce the reporter masquerading as an Indian businessman to Andrew and set up trade deals from which she demanded a further one percent commission.
The sting operation was carried out by the News of the World.
She claimed that Andrew, who is UK's Special Representative for Trade and Investment, was part of the scam. "Andrew said to me, Tell him ufffd500,000.
"He knows that he's had to underwrite me up to now because I've got no money. So if you want to meet him in your business, look after me and he'll look after you ufffd you'll get it back 10-fold."
She was filmed telling the undercover reporter how to transfer the 500,000 pounds into her private HSBC bank account.
She told the reporter: "500,000 pounds when you can, to me, open doors. Then that is then, like, then you open up all the channels, whatever you need, whatever you want, and then that's that, what, and then you meet Andrew and that's fine. And that's, that's when you really open up whatever you want."
The media report cited sources close to her as claiming that the 40,000 dollars down-payment agreed with the Indian businessman was to be used to put her former personal assistant through university in the US.
Her friends maintained that it was the original purpose of the meeting and it went out of hand.
"I'm incandescent with rage that she has been so naive to allow herself to get caught up in this. She is devastated by the story and deeply regretful of the situation and the embarrassment caused," a spokesman for Ferguson was quoted as saying.
