Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey says Andrew has lost his right to special treatment and called for a select committee inquiry to be set up to examine whether taxpayers have funded his lifestyle
Pressure is mounting for Prince Andrew to be hauled in front of MPs.
Calls are getting louder for the disgraced royal to testify to a select committee on the use of taxpayer money. The 65-year-old is reportedly in discussions about leaving his 30-room Royal Lodge home voluntarily following the furore over the “peppercorn” rent he currently pays on the Windsor property.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has demanded the Public Accounts Committee launches a probe into whether taxpayer cash has subsidised Andrew’s living arrangements. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: “I think by disgracing his office Prince Andrew is relinquishing the rights to special treatment at the expense of the taxpayer, and Parliament are the guardians of the taxpayer.
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“And what I think would be the best thing to happen is a select committee inquiry into how the Crown Estate has managed that support, and that officials from the Crown Estate and Prince Andrew should come to give evidence.
“The focus has been around the Royal Lodge, which I, as I understand it, is where the taxpayer may or may not have been supporting the Prince. But we just need some more transparency about this.”
He said he has written to the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown. Sir Geoffrey has previously said he will write to the Crown Estate and the government to “seek further information on the lease arrangements for Royal Lodge”.
Select committees are cross-party groups which collect evidence and report their findings to Parliament. Sir Ed continued: “But failing that, I think government should find time for debate. And if they don’t, we will see if we get a chance to put this on the floor of the House that MPs can debate behalf of taxpayers.”
Asked if he would push ahead against the King’s wishes, Sir Ed said: “He doesn’t have veto, obviously we want to work with the palace. The king’s been put in an incredibly difficult position by his brother, and hopefully the King can can lead on this.”
He added: “It may turn out that if we do the inquiry that Prince Andrew hasn’t had any special privileges. That’s the whole point of, accountability and transparency.” He continued: “The other thing that that motivates me, to be honest, is I think we need to make sure that the royal family is protected. I think there have been and put in such a terrible situation.”
He said discussion about Andrew had “overshadowed” the King’s activities, including the “incredibly moving” sight of the monarch praying with the Pope. Andrew stepped back from frontline royal duties after revelations about his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Calls are mounting in the US for him to testify about what he saw. He strenuously denies wrongdoing.
Andrew is said to be in talks with King’s aides but is reluctant to give up his residence of more than 20 years, with the sticking points believed to be the location of his new home and financial compensation for funds spent on renovating the lodge.
In their exit talks with the Palace, Andrew, 65, is said to have asked for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage. Meanwhile, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who Andrew currently lives with in the mansion, is hoping to move into nearby Adelaide Cottage once William and Kate leave next month.
Asked if it was right that the Prince’s ex-wife is provided for, Sir Ed said: “Well I didn’t think the taxpayer would expect that but that’s for a for others to finally decide.”