Prime Minister Keir Starmer said ‘proper scrutiny’ was important, as he faced calls for a parliamentary probe, which could haul in Prince Andrew to give evidence
Keir Starmer has backed a demand for an inquiry into Prince Andrew’s rent-free occupancy of a 30-room Windsor mansion.
The Prime Minister said “proper scrutiny” was important, as he faced calls for a parliamentary probe, which could haul in the Prince to give evidence.
Questions are mounting over the deal that allows Andrew to live at Royal Lodge, a Grade II-listed Georgian mansion in Windsor Great Park. He paid £1million for a 75-year lease and has since paid a peppercorn rent.
It comes after the Prince said he would stop using his titles and honours as a posthumous memoir from Virginia Giuffre shone a fresh spotlight on his relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He continues to deny the allegations.
Speaking during PMQs, Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Given the revelations about Royal Lodge, does the Prime Minister agree that this House needs to properly scrutinise the Crown Estate to ensure taxpayers’ interests are protected.
“The Chancellor herself has said that the current arrangements are wrong. So will the Prime Minister support a select committee inquiry, so all those involved can be called for evidence, including the current occupant.”
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Mr Starmer replied: “It’s important in relation to all Crown properties that there is proper scrutiny, and I certainly support that.”
A copy of the Royal Lodge leasehold agreement shows Prince Andrew signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003.
It reveals he paid £1 million for the lease and that since then he has paid “one peppercorn” of rent “if demanded” per year.
He was also required to pay a further £7.5 million for refurbishments completed in 2005, according to a report by the National Audit Office.
The agreement also contains a clause that states the Crown Estate would have to pay Andrew around £558,000 if he gave up the lease.
The arrangement has raised questions over whether the taxpayer is missing out as profits from the Crown Estate are given to the Treasury.
Baroness Hodge, a former chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said the Treasury should stop “treading on eggshells” and audit the royal accounts.
She claimed that it is still not clear how much he had benefited from taxpayer funds. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “[The] Treasury is supposed to do the job properly and audit a lot of this money. It’s like treading on eggshells. They just don’t dare do it properly.”
Downing Street also backed calls for Andrew to go to the police with any information he has relating to Epstein.
A No 10 spokesman said: “Our position on that is, as with any criminal investigation, or any investigation led by law enforcement authorities, where people have information that is relevant, they should, of course, share that information proactively.”
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