Andrew ‘rude, arrogant and entitled’, minister says as government backs release of trade role files

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

The debate secured by the Liberal Democrats this afternoon is quite specific.

Sir Ed Davey is seeking the release of documents related to the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then the Duke of York, as a government trade envoy in 2001. He also wants any documents in which Peter Mandelson expressed a view on the appointment.

But Davey and the Liberal Democrats are clear that they have a broader purpose in calling this debate.

As he published the motion, Davey said: “No one, regardless of their title or their friends, should be beyond the scrutiny of Parliament. It is time to end the age of impunity.”

In other words, today’s debate is designed to demonstrate that Parliament in general – and the Lib Dems in particular – will scrutinise even the King’s brother.

Yet there are constraints on what can be discussed later. Under Commons convention, MPs will be expected to avoid criticising other royals beyond Mountbatten-Windsor.

And while MPs have privilege, protecting whatever they say in the Commons today, they are likely to be warned by the Speaker at the start of the risk of prejudicing the police investigation into the former Duke of York.