Daily Mail, Thursday, March 5, 2020^ Page 11
Wills’ words of Irish peace:
Let’s get over troubled past
Nice to see
you: Kate at a
family respite
centre in
Co Kildare
yesterdaybeyond two countries that are
simply neighbours. “We are firm
friends and equal partners”, my
grandmother put it.’
William became the first senior
royal to directly reference Brexit
when he spoke of the need to
keep relations between the two
countries strong.
He said: ‘Of course, the changing
relationship between the UK and
the EU will require us to work
together, to ensure that the rela-
tionship between Ireland and the
UK remains just as strong.’
On a visit to a beef research farm
in County Meath with the couple,
Michael Creed, Irish minister for
agriculture, said his government
was hugely appreciative of the
visit, particularly post-Brexit.
The royal pair have received a
warm welcome everywhere and
yesterday went on a shopping trip
to a village convenience store in
County Kildare.
They also visited a charity-run
family respite centre, helping
make soup and playing a game of
table tennis with the youngsters.
Kate revealed: ‘We try to do this
at home but our dog keeps catch-
ing the ping pong balls.’ The cou-
ple also walked hand in hand on
the cliff walk near Dublin.From Rebecca English
Royal Editor in DublinJoke: Cambridges in Carlow yesterdayA SENIOR master at Eton has
been charged with sexual
assault and making indecent
photographs of children, it
emerged yesterday.
The teacher at the £40,000-a-
year private school near Windsor,
which was previously attended by
Prince William, Prince Harry and
Boris Johnson, was arrested on
suspicion of sexual assault in May
last year.
The married master was suspended
from his role at Eton on the day of his
arrest and has since been dismissed.
He appeared before local magis-
trates on Tuesday and faces seven
counts of sexual assault relating to
three victims, three counts of making
indecent photographs of children and
one count of voyeurism.
A letter from the Head Master of
Eton, Simon Henderson, to parents
of boys at the school reveals that the
teacher will face trial next month.
Mr Henderson wrote: ‘The welfare
and the wellbeing of the boys is my
top priority. We stand firmly behind
those boys and families directly
involved, who have acted with greatdignity and courage throughout.’ He
added: ‘I appreciate that many of you
were very close [to him] and that you
trusted him. I know that you and
your sons will be shocked and upset
by this news and we wish to do all we
can to support you.’
A meeting was held at the school
last night to discuss the circum-
stances of the case, and a further
meeting will be held this weekend.
Mr Henderson said the boys at theschool have been told about the alle-
gations. He promised to write to
former pupils.
At the time of the teacher’s arrest, a
source commented: ‘It is a major
scandal and has come as a massive
shock to everyone. It’s the talk of the
whole school.’
Mr Henderson has brought in a
child safeguarding officer from the
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maid-
enhead Council to provide supportand advice to the school and the
alleged victims.
Eton said in a statement last night:
‘Eton College can confirm that, as a
result of information passed by the
school to the local authority desig-
nated officer and to the police, a
member of staff was arrested in May
2019, suspended from work and sub-
sequently dismissed.
‘He has been charged with a number
of criminal offences and, given the
ongoing criminal proceedings, we
cannot comment further about the
details of this case.
‘The welfare and wellbeing of our
pupils is Eton’s top priority and when
appropriate, as in this case, we always
work very closely with the relevant
external agencies, in line with our
established procedures.’
Founded in 1440 by Henry VI, Eton
has a reputation as one of the world’s
best schools. It has 1,300 pupils, a
third of whom go on to Oxford or
Cambridge, and has been called ‘the
chief nurse of England’s statesmen’
due to the number who go on to hold
high office. Alumni include Arch-
bishop of Canterbury Justin Welby
and 20 prime ministers including Mr
Johnson and David Cameron.Eton master in
court accused
of sex assaults
By Claire Ellicott
‘Shocked and upset
by this news’THE Duke of Cambridge yester-
day used his official visit to Ire-
land to acknowledge the ‘wrongs
done’ and ‘troubled past’ of our
two nations.
In a keynote speech in Dublin,
William admitted the ‘complex-
ity of shared history’ but vowed
the royals would play their part
in ensuring the relationship
between Britain and Ireland
remains strong.
William spoke about how
moved he and his wife, the Duch-
ess of Cambridge, felt to lay a
wreath at Dublin’s Garden of
Remembrance on Tuesday in
honour of those who died fight-
ing for Irish independence. Hesaid: ‘As my grandmother said
during her visit in 2011, “our
islands have experienced more
than their fair share of heart-
ache and turbulence”.
‘But it was also a reminder
about how far we have come. It
is right that we continue to
remember those who suffered
a s a c o n s e q u e n c e o f o u r
troubled past.
‘And whilst many wrongs have
been done, it is important that
we are not bound by these.
Today, our relationship goes farmailplus.co.uk/briefings
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