‘Rude, arrogant and entitled’: British MPs line up to slam former Prince Andrew

A British minister has described Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as “a rude, arrogant and entitled man” during a debate in the British Parliament.

Chris Bryant, a junior trade minister, said on Tuesday that the former prince’s time as trade envoy was a “constant self-aggrandizing, self-enriching hustle” and that he “couldn’t distinguish between the public interest, which he said he was serving, and his own private interest.”

The comments came amid a debate over whether the British government should release documents related to Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as trade envoy, amid increasing scrutiny over his links to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Politicians from opposition parties lined up to criticize Mountbatten-Windsor. At least four said the convention to protect the royal family should end in parliament.

“These arcane rules are a mockery of our democracy,” said Scottish National Party MP Brendan O’Hara. “No one, regardless of rank or privilege, may or should be above the law.”

The arrest of King Charles’ younger brother last week has led some politicians to openly wonder during a debate whether it was time to end the parliamentary convention that prevents them from criticizing the royal family.

The Speaker of the House of Commons had given politicians approval to talk about the former prince on the grounds that he is no longer a member of the royal family as he has been stripped of his titles.

Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was the first member of the British royal family to be arrested in more than three centuries when he was questioned by officers on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Police are investigating reports that he sent trade reports to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2010 while he was a trade envoy for the British government.

Mountbatten-Windsor, who was released without charge, has always denied any wrongdoing involving Epstein and said he regrets their friendship.

The Liberal Democrats put pressure on the government to force it to release all documents relating to his appointment, through a secretive parliamentary procedure known as a modesty address.

Bryant said the government supported the motion and it passed unanimously.

There was a small turnout of politicians from the ruling Labor Party and the opposition Conservatives, the two main political parties.

Bryant said he would try to release the documents as soon as possible, but officials would have to check that this would not disrupt the police investigation.

The publication of the vetting documents could embarrass figures who served in then-Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government when he was appointed, as well as members of the British royal family, which is facing its worst crisis in 90 years over Mountbatten-Windsor’s connections to Epstein.

A former senior royal aide who knows the king well said the scandal was the worst for the royal family since King Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936.

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