Government ‘warmly welcomes’ move to make Andrew an ‘ordinary member of the public’ – UK politics live | Politics

Good morning. When David Lammy was appointed justice minister and lord chancellor, he probably never expected that stripping Prince Andrew of his titles would become one of his jobs. But this is the point reached today as a result of the remarkable announcement made by Buckingham Palace last night.

Andrew will lose the titles of Prince and Duke of York and the style of HRH, as well as the subsidiary titles of Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, PA Media reports. Many titles can be removed under royal prerogative on ministerial advice, and dukes, including the Duke of York, are listed on the roll of nobility held at the Crown Office. As lord chancellor, Lammy is responsible for maintaining the noble list and will receive an order from the king telling him to strike the duke from the list.

Judging by what other ministers and MPs said about the decision, Lammy will fulfill this task with great pleasure. That’s what other politicians have been saying about the move since it was announced last night.

Lisa NandyThe culture secretary was on Question Time when recording was stopped so he could brief the panel about Andrew. He said:

I really support this step [the king] taken. I think this is a very strong message for victims of grooming and sexual crimes. Before coming to Parliament I was working with abused children; This includes many of the girls who were horribly abused by grooming gangs…

This is a truly bold, important and correct step by the King and I fully support it.

Chris BryantThe trade secretary told the BBC this morning:

We warmly, I warmly support what the king did today. I think the vast majority of people in this country would think this was the right thing to do.

Kemi BadenochThe Conservative leader was phoning LBC last night and said it was a “very sad situation” for the king. He explained:

I think the King clearly felt that this was the right decision for the royal family. This must have been a very difficult thing for him. So having to do this to your own brother.

However, standards and expectations in society are now very high. People expect to see the highest levels of honesty. And I’m afraid the whole Jeffrey Epstein saga and everyone touched by this story from Prince Andrew According to Peter Mandelson, it showed that the public is not at all interested in sexual abuse and sexual crimes, especially against minors. And I think that’s quite true.

Ed DaveyLiberal Democrat leader, in question:

The King is absolutely right to strip Prince Andrew of both his titles and his residence in the Royal Lodge.

It is clear that Andrew’s position has become completely untenable, embarrassing his office and embarrassing the country.

We will have a lobby briefing later today so we may have an update on the government’s position, but Keir Starmer is likely relieved that King Charles has acted decisively to satisfy the public that Andrew has been rightly punished. Starmer has shown he is keen for the government to get involved in this issue. Some MPs are still pressing for further action against Andrew or a general overhaul of the way titles are awarded, but these appear to be minority arguments.

The House of Commons is not sitting today but there are other policies around. Rachel Reeves’ license to rent saga is finally coming to an end as colleagues in the House of Lords debate Ukraine. I’ll get into these stories later.

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