Overview
- Senior MPs used an Opposition Day debate to denounce Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor over his conduct as trade envoy, with descriptions including “a stain on our country” and “rude, arrogant and entitled.”
- The government has indicated it will bring forward legislation to remove him from the line of succession, a step that also requires assent from other realms, with Australia and New Zealand expressing support.
- The Speaker's Office and the Commons Library clarified there is no general ban on criticising royals, though incidental criticism of senior working royals is restricted and must be framed via a substantive motion.
- Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey apologised for praising Andrew’s trade role in 2011, saying on BBC Breakfast that he was sorry for those remarks.
- MPs pressed for access to files on Andrew’s time as special trade envoy, as a sparsely attended chamber underscored political caution despite the sharp rhetoric.