Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to table legislation to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom. Andrew gave up his Duke of York title, role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter and knighthood on Friday (October 17).
But he retains his dukedom, and only an act of Parliament can remove it from him. The SNP‘s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said the British public felt “angry”, and along with the family of Andrew’s late sex accuser, Virginia Giuffre, deserve to know some MPs “share their outrage”.
He told The Telegraph that if an act of Parliament is required to strip the likes of Prince Andrew of their titles, then there can be no justification from the Government over why that isn’t happening.
Andrew Lownie, Andrew’s biographer, said the process to officially remove his titles was relatively simple and could take just a day.
He said: “To make Andrew’s renunciation of the York title legal requires only a small amendment to the Peerage Act 1963.”
York Central MP, Rachael Maskell, said she was considering bringing a Bill. She told The i Paper she was minded to bring a Removal of Titles Bill, which would give the Monarch or Parliament the power to revoke honours.
Such a law could only make it onto the statute books if Labour MPs back it, given the party’s overwhelming majority in the Commons.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News that the issue of Andrew’s titles was one for the Royal Family to decide. He said: “I think in this we’re going to be guided by the palace and the Royal Family.”
Mr Miliband also described claims Andrew wanted his taxpayer-funded bodyguard to smear Ms Giuffre as “deeply concerning allegations”.
Ms Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, has urged the King to strip Andrew of his right to be a prince.
Prince William is understood to have wanted to take decisive action regarding the long-running controversy surrounding Andrew and his links to Epstein.
The Sunday Times reported that the Prince of Wales was “not satisfied” with Andrew’s title loss and intends to take a “more ruthless” approach to his disgraced uncle, banning him from his future coronation.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Andrew attempted to get the Metropolitan Police to dig up dirt for a smear campaign against Ms Giuffre.
The force said it was looking into the allegations after the Mail on Sunday claimed Andrew passed Ms Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his bodyguard in 2011 and asked him to investigate.
Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoirs, which are due out on Tuesday, have intensified the focus on her sexual assault allegations against Andrew, which he denies, and his links to Epstein.
She alleged that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including when she was 17, after being trafficked by Epstein. Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations. He paid millions to Ms Giuffre to settle a civil court case she brought in the US, but maintained this was in no way an admission of liability.
