A decision on stripping Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his Freedom of the City of London will be made as “a matter of urgency”, the City of London Corporation (CLC) said, as the corporation has approved a process to remove the honour from recipients itself.
CLC, the body which administers the ancient city centre, said on Thursday its court of common council, the organisation’s main decision-making body, had approved a process enabling the honour to be removed from individuals.
Elected members approved an act of common council, giving the court the power to remove a freedom.
The decision followed a legal review which concluded that there had been no effective lawful way to do so.
Under the new process, each case would be considered on its individual circumstances and in accordance with the law, CLC said, with the person concerned informed and given opportunities to make written representations before a final decision is made.
The new process will now begin for the disgraced former prince Andrew, after the corporation instructed officers to pursue steps to lawfully remove the honour.
In May, CLC criticised Andrew for failing to surrender his Freedom of the City of London “despite being asked to do so”.
The disgraced former prince inherited the freedom, one of his final remaining honours, in 2012 by patrimony, as the child of a freeman.
It is understood the proposal to strip Andrew of the honour will return to the court of common council for a decision in December.
CLC’s policy chairman, Chris Hayward, said: “Today, we have approved a lawful and effective process for considering whether the Freedom of the City of London should be removed from an individual.
“This ensures that future decisions are taken fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the law, with appropriate safeguards in place for all parties involved.
“The process will now be followed as a matter of urgency to ensure that a decision is made in relation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Freedom.”
