Key events
Ed Davey apologises for praising Andrew’s ‘excellent’ work as trade envoy in Commons debate 15 years ago
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has been giving interviews this morning. On the Today programme, he explained why the Lib Dem motion goes back to when Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was appointed a trade envoy, in 2001. But Davey faced embarrassment when Nick Robinson, the presenter, read out extracts from a speech that Davey gave in 2011, when he was a trade minister in the coalition government and he was responding to a debate tabled by the late Labour MP Paul Flynn.
Flynn, a republican, used the debate to criticise the fact that, under parliamentary rules, he could not say anything critical of Prince Andrew, as he was at the time. Davey was replying on behalf of the government and, as Robinson reminded him, he said that Andrew had been a success in the role.
Davey said at the time:
I, for one, believe that the Duke of York does an excellent job as the UK’s special representative for international trade and investment …. During [his time as trade envoy] he has been a long-standing success in the role, representing a continued interest on the part of the royal family in supporting British business and international trade and investment … Many who have worked with the duke have found that he is a real asset for our country in supporting UK business.
When Flynn put it to Davey that human rights groups were concerned about the work Andrew was doing in countries that were not democratic, Davey dismissed the criticism as “innuendo”.
When Robinson quoted these extracts from the debate, Davey said he was responding on behalf of another minister who could not be there. He said:
Can I apologise to all those victims of [Jeffrey] Epstein who may have read those words and been upset by them. I really regret them.
And he said no one in the debate had mentioned Jeffrey Epstein – which he said highlighted the way that parliament, at the time, was not holding Andrew to account.
When Robinson reminded Davey that he criticised Flynn for holding a debate about Andrew four days after the wedding of Prince William and Kate, saying that was “particularly inappropriate”, Davey replied:
Well, I didn’t know what we now know back then.
And it’s interesting to note that the prime minister [David Cameron] at the time got rid of, or ensured that Prince Andrew stood down from the role, two months later. So clearly someone in government did know that there were huge problems with the way he was conducting his role.
Davey said that he was “pretty angry” about the fact that he had been put in the position where he had to defend Andrew. He said the parliamentary rules that prevent MPs from criticising members of the royal family needed to change. The 2011 debate showed the need for “greater transparency and greater accountability”, he said.
Minister signals No 10 won’t stop MPs voting to publish Andrew trade envoy papers – provided police probe not jeopardised
Good morning. Spare a thought for Cabinet Office officials. They are already embarked on a massive exercise to collate, and vet, thousands of documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US, and his communications with government while he was in the job. That is so they can be published to comply with a humble address passed by MPs. Now it seems they are going to have to do a similar exercise for the paperwork relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as a trade envoy in 2001.
The Liberal Democrats have an opposition day in parliament, meaning they can choose the motion for debate, and they have tabled their own humble address. it says:
That an humble address be presented to His Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions to require the government to lay before this house all papers relating to the creation of the role of special representative for trade and investment and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment to that role, including but not confined to any documents held by UK Trade and Investment, British Trade International (BTI) and its successors, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Cabinet Office and the prime minister’s office containing or relating to advice from, or provided to, the Group Chief Executive of BTI, Peter Mandelson, the Cabinet Office and the prime minister regarding the suitability of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for the appointment, due diligence and vetting conducted in relation to the appointment, and minutes of meetings and electronic communications regarding the due diligence and vetting.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been giving interviews this morning, and she indicated that the government would not be blocking the motion. She told the Today programme:
We’re in favour of the principle of there being transparency around this. We think that’s important. Of course, the public have a right to see material that is relevant.
But she also repeatedly stressed that it would be wrong to publish anything that might prejudice the police investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor. She said:
We will look at what the Lib Dems have set out [and we] will address the position later on in parliament when we come to that debate.
But we do just need to be careful here because, as in the Peter Mandelson case, we have got a live police investigation here and none of us would want to do anything that would jeopardise it.
This suggests the Commons is likely to end up passing a version of the motion, with an amendment saying publication will only happen when the police inquiry is over.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet, with Antonia Romeo taking the notes for the first time as cabinet secretary.
11am: Kemi Badenoch and Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, hold a press conference with parents to discuss the case for a ban on teenagers accessing social media.
11am: Starmer takes part in a virtual coalition of the willing meeting on the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
11am: Richard Tice, the Reform UK business spokesperson, gives a speech in the West Midlands.
11.45am: David Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, gives a speech on reforming the courts system. He will announce he is lifting the cap on court sitting days.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Noon: The high court issues its judgement on Rupert Lowe MP’s bid to temporarily block the independent complaints and grievance scheme.
After 12.30pm: MPs will start debating the Lib Dem humble address motion saying documents relating to the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy when Labour was last in office should be published. The vote is due at about 4pm, although it seems likely it will be approved without a division.
2.30pm: Liam Byrne, the chair of the Commons business committee, is expeced to announce whether or not his committee will be launching an inquiry into trade envoys at the start of a hearing.
After 4pm: MPs debate a Lib Dem motion saying on Monday 9 March the Lib Dems should have control of the parliamentary timetable so they can pass a bill an online services (age restrictions) bill. The motion is certain to be voted down.
I’m afraid we are not able to open comments today. I’m sorry about that.
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