The government is considering introducing legislation to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of royal succession.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC the move - which would prevent Andrew from ever becoming King - was the “right thing to do,” regardless of the outcome of the police investigation.
Currently Andrew, the King’s brother, remains eighth in line to the throne despite being stripped of his titles, including “prince”, last October amid pressure over his ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
On Thursday evening, Andrew was released under investigation 11 hours after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
I’m not from the UK or living there. So grain of salt and all… But I read this not so much as a punishment, but closing a loophole so he can never ever be in a position of royal power or benefits. And it would hold even if he wins in court.
If we in the US had closed some loopholes 2021-24, we would be at least 50% less fucked.
And maybe 90% less if we’d done it after Nixon.
It’s not enough. But it’s not nothing.
Thank you for bringing reason to that moronic comment above yours. “This is the whole punishment! WAH!” I’m so sick of reflexive cynicism in ignorance of the facts. It’s like people have forgotten how to put anything in context and want the shortest path to despair no matter what the news is.
If an angry mob had closed a loophole around Richard Nixon’s neck after he received his pardon, we probably wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today.
In the UK and I largely agree.
We’ve seen powerful people can get away with things so there will need to be a bulletproof case against him for anything to hold. Building in mitigations for that is a good thing, even if I think it should be targeting the wider systemic issues not just one loser.