The City of London Corporation is to express its “disapproval” of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after the former prince failed to reply to a letter asking him to relinquish a historic honour.
The Corporation had written to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor on April 16 asking him to give up the Freedom of the City of London though is yet to receive a response.
Members sitting on an influential committee agreed last week in private that a motion will now be brought forward of censure, described in an email from Policy Chairman Deputy Christopher Hayward as “a formal expression of our disapproval”.
Deputy Hayward’s email, which was sent to all members and has been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), revealed the motion will be presented at the next meeting of the Court of Common Council.
Alderwoman Martha Grekos, a senior councillor who has raised concerns about the Corporation’s conduct on the matter, said the City should instead apply to Parliament to legislate for the removal of the honour.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor received the Freedom of the City of London via patrimony in 2012 having inherited it from his father, Prince Philip. Today it is largely a ceremonial honour though continues to be awarded to individuals on a regular basis, with comedian Sir Lenny Henry and actress Cate Blanchett among those to receive it.
He was stripped of his royal titles, styles and honours by King Charles last year after more details of his relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light.
In February he was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over accusations he shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was released under investigation after spending 11 hours in custody. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The LDRS revealed in March that the City of London Corporation, which oversees the Freedom, had concluded it could not remove the honour from Mr Mountbatten-Windsor.
This position has come under increasing scrutiny, with pressure from quarters including some senior councillors and a group of City of London guides.
The guides, who count among their ranks a former BBC journalist and an ex-diplomat, wrote to the Corporation proposing ways they believe Mr Mountbatten-Windsor could be stripped of the Freedom.
At a Policy and Resources Committee meeting last month members in private agreed to write to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor requesting he relinquish the title. A further update was provided to the same committee last Thursday (May 7), again behind closed doors.
The following day Deputy Hayward wrote to all Corporation members revealing what had been discussed and agreed.
He wrote that in all of his discussions on the matter, “our thoughts remain firmly with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and all those affected by his appalling crimes”.
Deputy Hayward continued to note the letter sent to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor on April 16, though that “to date, the City Corporation has received no response”.
He reiterated there is “currently no effective legal mechanism to remove a Freedom”, and that in light of this, a motion of censure was agreed to go to the next Court of Common Council. The Corporation’s calendar indicates this is penned in for May 21.
Alderwoman Grekos said: “The proposed motion of censure, which will soon be forgotten, leaves Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in possession of the Freedom of the City of London for the rest of his life.
“The City Corporation should do better for Epstein’s victims. It says it’s difficult to remove the Freedom, but that’s not the same as impossible. And why not cut through the difficulty by asking a willing Parliament to legislate for the removal?”
A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: “We wrote to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in April inviting him to formally relinquish his Freedom of the City of London.
“Following his failure to respond, elected members of our Policy and Resources Committee have agreed to bring forward a motion of censure – a formal expression of our disapproval – to the next meeting of the Court of Common Council on May 21.
“Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received the Freedom in 2012 by virtue of patrimony, as the child of a Freeman. There is currently no effective legal mechanism to remove a Freedom. Our thoughts remain firmly with the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and all victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.”
