Royal property manager jailed over corrupt payments

A former deputy property manager in the British royal household was jailed on Wednesday over corrupt payments linked to the awarding of building work contracts at Buckingham Palace and other royal homes. Ronald Harper was sentenced to five years in prison at Southwark Crown Court for conspiracy to make corrupt payments, prosecutors said. Harper worked with an annual budget of 2.3 million pounds and was able to authorise orders worth up to 30,000 pounds, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.