Luxembourg royals deny contacts with Britain’s MI6

Luxembourg’s royal family on Saturday denied that head of state Grand Duke Henri maintained contacts with Britain’s MI6 secret service.

“The grand ducal court denies in the strongest possible terms information that has appeared in the media concerning relations with the British secret service,” it said in a statement.

The former head of Luxembourg’s information service Marco Mille referred to “permanent contacts” with the British secret service in a conversation with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, according to a transcript of a covertly recorded exchange between them, published Friday by the weekly Letzebuerger Land.

In the interview, the Prime Minister asks Mille if the Grand Duke deliberately maintained relations with MI6.

“I am not going to go and ask him,” Mille is heard to reply. He was sacked several months later along with two other information service officials.

A source close to Juncker said that he had been aware of the recording since mid-2009.

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La cour grand-ducale de Luxembourg a démenti samedi avoir entretenu des contacts avec les services de renseignement britanniques, le MI6, en réponse