Bill drafted to remove Freedom honour from Andrew

A bill to strip Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his Freedom of the City of London is being drafted by legal officials at the City of London Corporation.

If approved, the bill would pave the way for the former prince to be stripped of the honour.

In March, a Corporation spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the honour could not be revoked. However, the Corporation has now said it is developing a process for removal because there is "currently no effective lawful mechanism to do so".

A Corporation spokesperson said: "We understand why people want this matter resolved as quickly as possible, and we share that desire."

The former prince received the Freedom of the City of London in 2012 "by virtue of patrimony", because his father, Prince Philip, had been a Freeman.

At a meeting of the Court of Common Council on Thursday 23 July, Deputy Marianne Fredericks asked for an update on action being taken to remove the title.

Policy chair Deputy Chris Hayward said the Comptroller and City Solicitor, together with the City Remembrancer, had produced a draft legal opinion on the matter.

He said the "provisional gist" of the opinion was that the current process of disenfranchisement – the mechanism used to remove the honour – is "defective and defunct".

The court would need to pass an Act of Common Council and "confer the power of disenfranchisement on itself" for the process to move forward.

Other options are also being explored.

Deputy Hayward said work was under way to finalise and publish the draft bill. It is due to go before the Policy and Resources Committee in September and then the Court in October.

Deputy Hayward said: "The City Solicitor and the Remembrancer have both asked me to point out that this is a substantial piece of work with significant constitutional implications which need to be carefully considered by members, to ensure that the new process is, as far as possible, lawful and workable with no unintended consequences."

If the Act is passed, a further report will be brought forward "in the following cycle", giving members the opportunity to remove Mountbatten-Windsor's Freedom.

A Corporation spokesperson said: "The fastest and most appropriate approach is to put in place a lawful process that allows the City Corporation to make these decisions itself, rather than seeking legislation through Parliament.

"We are progressing that work and, if elected members approve the new process, they will then be able to consider whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's Freedom should be removed."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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