Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been branded “rude and arrogant” by a minister, as the government agreed to release documents about the former prince’s time as a UK trade envoy.
The former Duke of York faces accusations of sharing sensitive information with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while acting as a special representative for trade and investment between 2001 and 2011.
Speaking to MPs in the Commons, trade minister Sir Chris Bryant confirmed Labour would agree to a move by the Liberal Democrats to compel ministers to release files relating to Andrew’s appointment for the role, including any vetting and any correspondence from Lord Mandelson.
However, in a savage statement to MPs, Bryant described Andrew as “a man on a constant self-aggrandising and self-enriching hustle”, and “a rude, arrogant and entitled man who could not distinguish between the public interest, which he said he served, and his own private interest”.
Bryant was one of multiple MPs to speak out about their concerns over Andrew’s role as a trade envoy.
Ahead of the debate, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “The public want some answers to this scandal.
“There’s a general principle behind this debate… whoever you are, whatever your title, whoever your friends are, you should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, and I think transparency and openness is the way forward if we’re going to restore trust.”
Bryant also said he wanted to “manage people’s expectations” about how quickly the papers on Andrew can be released, due to the age and quantity of the material, and the live police investigation.
Andrew was arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Emails released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show the former duke sharing reports of official overseas visits with the disgraced financier.
Andrew, who has consistently denied all claims made against him in relation to Epstein, was held in custody for 11 hours before being released under investigation.
The arrest has sparked calls for Andrew to be removed from the line of succession.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.news.yahoo.com ’
