5 Minutes Ago: Prince Andrew receives heartbreaking update as King Charles swings sword
Prince Andrew has landed in new trouble amid the ongoing investigation, with every new revelation adding to his worries.
The former Duke faces a new challenge ahead as demands for the investigation about his finances could unearth more secret as level of the accountability takes a new turn.
The latest developement suggests Andrew’s finances will soon be probed as outrage about the disgraced royal continues.
As per reports, The National Audit Office (NAO) is expected to support MPs in scrutinising the arrangements that allowed the Prince to live effectively rent-free in Royal Lodge for more than two decads.
Kemi Badenoch – Conservative Party leader – has previously called for a review of the NAO’s 2005 report on the deal, which found that the Lodge could have made hundreds of thousands of pounds if it had been let out.
Andrew’s days in the luxury 30-room Windsor property has been numbered as he’s allegedly in deal with the King to make a safe exit that could help him and his family in the future as well.
Ferguson’s ex-husband has allegdly only paid a “peppercorn” of rent at the property. He holds a lease on the mansion until 2078, having made an initial payment of £1million for the residency and dishing out £7.5million towards renovations completed in 2005.
The Crown Estate would owe Andrew £558,000 if they cut the lease short, as per the property agreement. He would receive annual payments of £185,865 until 2028, with No 10 refusing to rule out whether the taxpayer would fund the early exit cost.
The British Prime Minister backed demands for fresh scrutiny of the deal last week. MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which interrogates Government spending, will question both the Treasury and the Crown Estate.
It has not committed to a full Parliamentary inquiry. PAC will be assisted by the NAO with the interrogations, according to The Telegraph.
“The Comptroller and Auditor General is in discussion with the Public Accounts Committee on this matter and will provide support as required,” according to The NAO.
Sources note that the PAC’s work was still in the fact-finding stage, and it was unclear what support the audit office would provide.
In its report from 2005, the NAO reviewed the lease arrangements at Royal Lodge, concluding that it could have achieved a minimum rent of £260,000 a year, around half a million pounds today. However, on security grounds, only a member of the royal family could reside there.
The Liberal Democrats have now demanded “clarity” from the Government on the situation, saying people “deserve to know” how their money is being spent.
Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem cabinet office spokesman, told the outlet: “By disgracing his office, Prince Andrew has relinquished any rights to special treatment at the expense of the taxpayer. The Government needs to provide clarity. Taxpayers deserve to know.
“The first thing we need is proper transparency and accountability – that’s why the Liberal Democrats have already called for the Crown Estate and Prince Andrew to give evidence under oath in Parliament before a select committee.”
