Philip insult as City Hall opens
Prince Philip put his foot in it again today as he complained about the architecture of the new headquarters for the London Assembly.
On a tour of City Hall following its opening by the Queen, the Duke criticised the view from the top and the Mayor's development plans.
London Assembly chairman Trevor Phillips, who accompanied the royal couple on their tour, said afterwards: "We went into the London Living Room (a public viewing area at the top) and I said you should look at the view, it's wonderful.
"He said: 'It's terrible, look at all these buildings', I'm not sure where he was referring to, but I think he was talking about some of the tower blocks you can see across south-east London."
The Duke, he said, then challenged deputy mayor Nicky Gavron on Mayor Ken Livingstone's London Plan, in which he sets out how he intends to improve the city's transport and infrastructure.
Mr Phillips said: "He said to her: 'You're making the same mistake as has been made before. You always want to plan it but you will make the same mistakes as they have done in developing countries. They just let the population grow and then the whole place just becomes terrible and gets into a mess'."
In her speech the Queen called the structure, near Tower Bridge, "this striking new addition to the capital's skyline". Mr Livingstone called it "stunning" and "the best of British architecture."
