The federal government is refusing to make time in parliament for MPs to debate the conduct of Prince Andrew amid a flood of recent allegations in opposition to him.
The prime minister’s spokesperson advised reporters: “Prince Andrew has already confirmed he won’t use his titles.
“We assist the choice made by the Royal Household, and we all know the Royal Household wouldn’t need to take time from different essential points.”
The one method for MPs to debate the disgraced royal’s friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his peppercorn lease for a mansion can be for the federal government to make time within the parliamentary timetable.
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Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has mentioned there isn’t any ban on MPs discussing the conduct of a member of the Royal Household, however it must be on a “substantive movement” relatively than throughout common query time periods.
Substantive motions will be tabled by the federal government, opposition events in opposition day debates, and by backbenchers via an utility to the Backbench Enterprise Committee.
In response to repeated questions from journalists about why Quantity 10 was blocking a debate in the principle chamber, the spokesman mentioned: “I do not settle for that. Any resolution by committees to scrutinise developments are a matter for them.”
Requested whether or not No 10 considered it as a waste of parliamentary time to debate Andrew’s lease of the Royal Lodge on a peppercorn lease, the spokesperson mentioned: “That is not what I’ve mentioned.”
The chair of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, mentioned in an announcement on Thursday that they are going to be “writing within the coming days to the Crown Property Commissioners and HM Treasury, in search of additional data on the lease preparations for Royal Lodge”.
“We’ll overview the response we obtain to our forthcoming correspondence, and can think about at the moment whether or not to hunt additional data,” he added.
The prime minister’s spokesperson mentioned earlier that Sir Keir Starmer “helps correct scrutiny of the crown estates and all makes use of of taxpayers’ cash”, and appeared to again a committee investigation throughout Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Requires dukedom to be revoked
Strain has been quickly growing on the King’s brother – who introduced final week he would cease utilizing his Duke of York title and his knighthood – after revelations within the posthumous memoir of his intercourse accuser, Virginia Giuffre.
Reviews additionally emerged over the weekend that claimed Prince Andrew requested a royal shut safety officer to “dig up grime” on the late Ms Giuffre.
Because of these new allegations, the Metropolitan Police said it is “actively looking into the claims”.
There are rising requires his dukedom to be formally revoked, which may solely be completed by an act of parliament, and for him to surrender his 30-room Royal Lodge residence in Windsor Nice Park after it emerged he paid a peppercorn lease for greater than 20 years.
‘We’re guided by the palace’
Commons chief Sir Alan Campbell was requested on Thursday whether or not MPs would have time to debate a movement put ahead by the Scottish Nationwide Get together to create a brand new regulation to formally strip Andrew of his dukedom.
The chief of the SNP in Westminster, Stephen Flynn, mentioned: “I’ve laid a movement earlier than this Home which calls on the federal government to take heed to parliamentarians and to take heed to the general public and to take heed to victims and take legislative motion to take away the dukedom from Prince Andrew.
“When is the federal government going to return ahead with that laws?”
Ought to MPs have a say on Prince Andrew?
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Sir Alan mentioned: “I do know that there is been hypothesis about laws. However the palace have been clear that they recognise that there are different issues that this Home must be getting on with, and we’re guided on this by the palace.
“That does not imply that the Home cannot discover methods of debating these issues, whether or not or not it’s the matter of titles, or whether or not or not it’s a matter of the funds, which I do know are below query right here.”
Prince Andrew has repeatedly and vehemently denied the claims in opposition to him made by the late Ms Giuffre.
However a Buckingham Palace supply has advised Sky Information that the “new allegations which have been introduced up” are of “very severe and grave concern” and “should be examined within the correct and fullest methods”.
