Keir Starmer breaks silence on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrest
Keir Starmer has broken his silence over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest after Australia backed a bid to strip the disgraced former Prince from the line of succession.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said today the government is “not ruling anything out” after it emerged on Friday the government is considering the bombshell move. Earlier on Monday, Australia became the first of the 14 British realms to offer its backing to remove Andrew from the line of succession, which would require an Act of Parliament.
In a letter to Mr Starmer, the Australian PM Anthony Albanese said: “In light of recent events concerning Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, I am writing to confirm that my government would agree to any proposal to remove him from the line of royal succession. I agree with His Majesty that the law must now take its full course and there must be a full, fair and proper investigation. hese are grave allegations and Australians take them seriously.”
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Mr Starmer’s spokesman said today: “We’re considering whether further steps are required in relation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and we’re not ruling anything out. Given the ongoing police investigation, it wouldn’t be appropriate for the government to comment further at this stage.”
Sources suggested last week ministers will begin consultation on removing Andrew from the line of succession after the conclusion of multiple police investigations into allegations surrounding Andrew’s conduct.
Any changes to the line of succession would also require the agreement of other countries which share the UK monarch. The 14 Commonwealth countries where King Charles is head of state are Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
There have also been calls for a wider probe into Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has vigorously denied wrongdoing in relation to allegations of sexual misconduct. He is yet to respond to allegations about his role as envoy.
Downing Street said on Monday it was up to Parliament whether a special committee should investigate Andrew and Lord Peter Mandelson’s links to Epstein. Asked about calls for a committee to investigate the matter, the PM’s official spokesman said: “This is a matter for Parliament, not Government. But we should remain mindful of the ongoing investigation in this case, and it’s right that the police investigation takes its course.”
Pressed on whether the Government would set up his own inquiry, the spokesman said: “I think we’ve been clear that it’s right that this investigation should take its course. That has primacy here, and as we’ve said we continue to cooperate with the Met and other forces.”
Andrew is currently eighth in line to the throne after Princes William and Harry and their children. The King effectively stripped him of his royal titles in October after new information came to light about his links to the convicted sex offender Epstein in millions of documents released by the US State Department.
