Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor MUST be removed from line of royal succession, says Cabinet Minister as police search Royal Lodge for third day

Defense Secretary Luke Pollard has become the first senior Cabinet Minister to back calls for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be removed from the line of succession as police continue to search the Royal Lodge.

A convoy of unmarked police vehicles arrived at the gates of Andrew’s former home, the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, this morning as searches were expected to continue over the weekend and into Monday.

Pressure is mounting to remove Andrew from the royal line of succession, with Labor MP Mr Pollard saying it was “the right thing to do” while he is “just a heartbeat away” and eighth in line to the throne, regardless of the outcome of the police investigation.

Speaking last night, he confirmed that the government was actively considering introducing legislation to take away his right of succession once the police investigation into him had been concluded.

“Being able to set out very clearly what the standards are that we expect as a nation and what are the British values ​​that we can be proud of, signals that it’s the right thing to do to stop someone who could potentially be a heartbeat away from the throne,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Questions programme.

Mr Pollard said he hoped there would be ‘cross-party support’ for the proposals and that ‘it is true that this is something that only happens once the police investigation is concluded’.

Andrew’s removal would require an Act of Parliament, as well as the support of the 14 Commonwealth countries where the King is Head of State, including New Zealand, Canada and Australia, where legislation is also required.

Last night, Treasury Secretary James Murray confirmed that the Government was ‘considering any further steps that may be required’ and was not ruling out anything.

Removing Andrew would require an Act of Parliament, as well as the support of the 14 Commonwealth countries where the King is Head of State, including New Zealand, Canada and Australia, where legislation would also be required (Image: Andrew and King Charles at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent last year)

“But,” he told Sky News, “it would not be appropriate for us to go any further at this stage because there is a live police investigation going on.”

On Thursday evening, following his sensational early morning arrest on suspicion of abuse of public office, he was released from police custody after 11 hours of interrogation on what would have been his 66th birthday. She became the first senior royal to be arrested in modern history.

He was questioned by Thames Valley Police over allegations he shared sensitive information with Epstein while he was Britain’s trade envoy.

Meanwhile, Royal Lodge in Windsor was still being searched by police today, with vehicles coming and going from the property where Andrew lived in the 30-room mansion from 2004 until recently.

More than 20 vehicles were seen parked yesterday, but it is not known whether all of them are connected to the investigation and searches.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government is expected to consider legislation to remove Andrew from the succession after police finish their investigation into the King’s disgraced brother.

The government’s proposal comes ahead of Parliament’s return on Monday and after some MPs, including the Liberal Democrats and the SNP, have signaled their support for the legislation.

Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats party, said: It would be “unacceptable” for Andrew to take the throne.

He said: ‘If you look at a few tragedies, it’s not as far-fetched as some people think.’

‘That’s why we must act. Obviously we want to make sure that this action does not prejudice the police investigation in any way. “This is absolutely critical.”

‘You must remember Epstein’s victims and the people who went to his island, those women and girls. ‘They should be at the forefront of our minds when we think about these things.’

Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Layla Moran told the BBC today that she had tried to introduce a replacement bill to remove Andrew from the line of succession yesterday, but said it would have to be brought forward ‘in government time’.

‘If you can’t be a prince, you shouldn’t be a king,’ he said. ‘There is a strange quirk in the way the line of succession works that Andrew could still be king and if that happens there will be protests in the streets and that would be the end of the monarchy.’

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, he called for an ‘independent public inquiry’ into ‘who knew what the Epstein Files showed and when’.

Other MPs are said to believe formal legislation is not necessary as Andrew is too far from the throne to cause concern.

But supporters of the law say that although he is only eighth in line, it is possible for him to become regent for William’s children in extreme cases if something were to happen to both King Charles and Prince William.

Last October, he was stripped of his titles by King Charles over his ties to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, but he remains in the line of succession.

He resigned from public duties in 2019 over allegations about his friendship with Epstein, following his disastrous Newsnight interview.

But pressure has increased for further action to be taken following the ongoing allegations against Andrew following the release of documents and photographs from the Epstein Files.

It is understood Thames Valley Police has not yet received any ‘early investigation advice’ from the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to the allegation.

In a separate investigation, the Met last night called on Andrew’s former security and close protection officers to come forward and reveal what they knew about Andrew and Epstein, particularly about the late financier’s activities on his island.

Detectives asked them to “carefully consider whether anything they saw or heard” during their assignment was relevant to the investigation into Epstein and his associates.

The force had previously said it was investigating the allegations, but Andrew’s protection officers ‘ignored’ his visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James.

Andrew’s main accuser, Virginia Giuffre, claimed he had sex with her during an orgy with ‘underage’ girls on the Caribbean island.

Police have not yet found any wrongdoing by the close protection officers.

The Met also said it was working with US counterparts to examine whether flights into London airports were being used to ‘facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation’.

He also confirmed that there have been no new reports on allegations of sexual crimes since the US Department of Justice released millions of pages of documents related to Epstein.

Ten police forces are currently investigating or considering investigating Andrew.

Buckingham Palace has not commented publicly on the government’s plans to remove Andrew from the line of succession, but a Palace source said:

‘The matter of removing Mr Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession is entirely a matter for Parliament and of course we would never get in the way of that or oppose the will of Parliament.’

Andrew has denied any wrongdoing regarding his Epstein connections but has not responded directly to the latest allegations.

This weekend, the Royal Family will try to carry out their duties as usual, with the Prince and Princess of Wales expected to make public appearances.

Following Andrew’s arrest, the King said in a statement that ‘the law must take its course’ and that the police had ‘our full and wholehearted support and co-operation’.

Charles attended the first show of London Fashion Week on Thursday, hours after Andrew’s arrest, and did not respond when asked for his reaction to the news.

During her visit to the concert in Westminster that afternoon, the Queen also did not respond to a question about her brother-in-law’s arrest.