MPs on a powerful parliamentary select committee are “pushing hard” to launch an inquiry into Prince Andrew’s residence at Royal Lodge, the Guardian understands.
Keir Starmer has indicated he is open to MPs questioning Andrew in person about his home in Windsor Great Park, where he has lived for more than 20 years without paying rent.
MPs on the public accounts committee, which scrutinises public spending, are understood to be gathering support to launch their inquiry into the financial arrangements.
The select committee is chaired by the veteran Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown. Any decision to launch an inquiry would need to be agreed by the whole committee.
The Liberal Democrat party leader, Ed Davey, wrote to Clifton-Brown on Wednesday calling on him to launch the inquiry. “Proper transparency is urgently needed, and parliament has an important role to play in scrutinising the crown estate and ensuring that taxpayers’ interests are upheld,” he wrote, saying he was “confident you would have cross-party support for such an inquiry.”
The former chair of the committee, Margaret Hodge, has publicly criticised the living arrangements of Andrew, who has been stripped of his dukedom by the palace after new revelations about his friendship with the convicted child sexual abuse offender Jeffery Epstein.
The government is facing mounting pressure over the prince’s residence in the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor, where it was revealed he has not paid rent for more than two decades.
Andrew has leased Royal Lodge from the UK state’s property empire, the crown estate, since 2003, making a one-off payment of £1m to lease the property for 75 years, though paying for £7.5m in refurbishments. He pays “one peppercorn” a year in rent.
If he were forced to leave the mansion, the crown estate would have to pay him compensation.
The pressure comes amid fresh allegations made about the prince in the posthumous memoir by the Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre, who said she had sex with Andrew on three separate occasions. She also said the prince’s team tried to “hire internet trolls” to “hassle” her online. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said on Tuesday she believed people should “pay their way” when asked whether Andrew should be permitted to remain at Royal Lodge.
Sources close to the select committee said there was growing will for a proper examination of his living arrangements and the continued luxury he enjoys despite his conduct.
It is understood that the committee’s agenda is full until the new year – but that an opportunity may arise when the National Audit Office publishes its review of the crown estate.
At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Starmer appeared to agree with Davey when he suggested MPs could cross-examine Andrew about Royal Lodge.
“Given the revelations about Royal Lodge, does the prime minister agree that this house needs to properly scrutinise the crown estate to ensure taxpayers’ interests are protected? The chancellor has said these arrangements are wrong, so will the prime minister support a select committee inquiry to take evidence from everyone involved – including the current occupant?”
Starmer replied: “Well, it’s important in relation to all properties, crown properties, that there is proper scrutiny, and I certainly support that.”
His spokesperson did not deny that Starmer was endorsing the idea of a select committee examining Royal Lodge. “It’s important that there’s proper scrutiny when the scrutiny is needed,” they said.
Davey said any cross-examination would have public backing. “The public are quite understandably demanding answers, so it’s right that parliament gets to the bottom of arrangements regarding Royal Lodge.
“Prince Andrew should come before a parliamentary committee to give his evidence and show contrition. Transparency will be central to rebuilding trust in our institutions.”
A spokesperson for Kemi Badenoch said the National Audit Office should refresh its 2005 report into the lease deal. “There is a case for a review of that,” he said. “It’s important that we get value for money and that taxpayers’ money is spent wisely.”
