Why the News of the World was right to expose the Duchess of York

This article was published in The Guardian 24 May 2010

After two stories built around subterfuge without a genuine public interest (John Higgins and Lord Triesman) comes a third that, on balance, justifies the use of entrapment.

I refer to the News of the World's exposure yesterday of the Duchess of York, who may well gain yet another nickname, this time as the Duchess of Pork Barrel.

The NoW tale, Fergie 'sells' Andy for £500k, was another of its typical sting operations masterminded by Mazher Mahmood (aka the fake sheikh).

In essence, it revealed that the Duchess was selling a businessman access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, who has an unpaid role as the UK's special representative for trade and investment.