Buckingham Palace complained Wednesday to Britain’s press watchdog about a tabloid story claiming Queen Elizabeth II wants the U.K.to leave the European Union.
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Suspicion has now fallen on Michael Gove for leaking details of a private lunch with the monarch.
But Mr Clegg, who led the pro-EU Liberal Democrats and was deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, denied the report.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has been campaigning for the United Kingdom to remain in the EU, arguing that a deal struck with European leaders to give Britain “special status” within the bloc meant it would have “the best of both worlds”.
The palace has complained under clause 1 of the Editors’ Code of Practice, which says the press should “take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text ” .
The royal family is supposed to be constitutionally above politics, but has been known to issue carefully worded pronouncements on sensitive issues.
A previous statement on behalf of the Queen said she was “politically neutral” and had remained so throughout her reign, dismissing the “spurious, anonymously sourced claims” . “The referendum will be a matter for the British people”, a Buckingham Palace spokesperon said.
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“People who heard their conversation were left in no doubt at all about the Queen’s views on European integration”, the source was quoted as saying.
“This is nonsense”, he wrote on Twitter. “I’ve no recollection of this happening & it’s not the sort of thing I would forget”.
Whoever reported her alleged comments will be deemed to have broken the convention that private conversations with the Queen are not publicly reported. Some interpreted that as a call for Scots to stay in Britain.
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Following the complaint the newspaper said: “The Sun stands by its story, which was based upon two impeccable sources and presented in a robust, accessible fashion”. The Sun has rebuked the complaint, saying it will “vigorously” defend the exclusive.
