Members of the City of London Corporation have approved a bill giving the authority the power to remove the Freedom when deemed appropriate
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is set to be stripped of his Freedom of the City of London within months as the body overseeing the honour begins the process of removal.
The City of London Corporation has approved a bill giving it the power to disenfranchise, or remove the Freedom, when deemed appropriate. It is expected that a decision is to be taken by the Corporation’s Court of Common Council regarding the disgraced former prince by December.
Pressure has been building on the Corporation after the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) revealed in March it had concluded it could not strip Mr Mountbatten-Windsor of the Freedom.
Members voted in May to instruct officers to investigate how to remove the honour, and in July, it was announced that legal chiefs were working on a draft bill.
At a Court of Common Council meeting today (September 10), members agreed to adopt the draft bill, meaning the disenfranchisement procedure in relation to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor can begin.
In a comment published following the meeting Deputy Chris Hayward, the Corporation’s Policy Chair and de-facto political head, said the process “ensures that future decisions are taken fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the law, with appropriate safeguards in place for all parties involved”.
How has the Corporation’s position changed?
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor received the Freedom in 2012 via patrimony due to his father Prince Phillip having been a Freeman.
King Charles stripped his brother of his royal titles, styles and honours after further details of the former prince’s relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light last year.
In February he was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over accusations he shared sensitive information with Mr 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 Corporation’s original position when queried by the LDRS earlier this year was that it was unable to strip Mr Mountbatten-Windsor of the Freedom.
A spokesperson said at the time: “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received the Freedom of the City of London in 2012 by virtue of patrimony, which is inherited as the child of a Freeman and constitutes a legal right.
“Applications via patrimony are not considered by our elected Members. We have carefully considered whether it is possible to remove a Freedom granted by patrimony and understand that we are not able to do so.”
Since then the Corporation’s stance has come under growing scrutiny, culminating in the May meeting when officers were told to investigate how the honour could be removed.
In a report prepared ahead of today’s Court session it was stated that legal officers, including the Comptroller and City Solicitor and City Remembrancer, had concluded the current process “was obsolete and unusable”.
The last instance of a Freeman being disenfranchised was Alderman Plumbe in 1771, “although notably this decision was overturned on appeal”.
The procedure recommended by officers is that in instances when the Town Clerk, in consultation with others including the Chamberlain, believes removing an individual’s Freedom may be necessary that the allegations be submitted to the Policy and Resources Committee.
Ahead of that the Town Clerk will write to the Freeman/woman outlining the allegations, with an invitation to respond with their own representations within 14 days.
The matter will then be considered by the same committee, with a final opportunity to respond given to the individual concerned, before the Court of Common Council makes its decision.
“Officers are of the view that such a procedure would satisfy the minimum legal requirements for procedural fairness,” the report states. “If the Bill is enacted, then the process may be commenced in relation to AMW [Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor].”
‘Proceed with urgency’
Deputy Hayward told members the draft bill delivers on the commitment to replace the existing “obsolete” procedure.
He said: “It establishes an effective mechanism through which this honourable Court may consider the removal of an individual’s Freedom where the relevant common law grounds are satisfied.
“For clarity, today’s decision concerns the process alone. We are not being asked to decide whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Freedom should be removed.
“If the bill passes all three readings today and is enacted today, any proposal to remove the Freedom would need to be considered separately under the new process. We will proceed with urgency while allowing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor time to respond and ensuring that any representations are properly considered.
“The proposal would then return to this honourable Court for a decision by December supported by the necessary officer reports.”
No questions were asked by members following Deputy Hayward’s comments, with the Court unanimously approving the draft bill.
Alderwoman Martha Grekos, who has pushed for action regarding Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s Freedom, said: “I am glad that the leadership of the City Corporation, after originally resisting the removal of the Freedom from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for six months, was finally pressured into taking action to enable that removal to be achieved.
“The fact that I and others had to work so hard to get to this point, though, reveals that there remains an issue with the culture of the Corporation.”
The Freedom is thought to date back to 1237, and was necessary for individuals to carry out their trade in the City.
Recent recipients have included actors Cate Blanchett and Adrian Dunbar and comedian Sir Lenny Henry.
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