Debate designed to reveal Parliament will scrutinise even the King’s brotherprinted at 12:47 GMT
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
The debate secured by the Liberal Democrats this afternoon is kind of particular.
Sir Ed Davey is looking for the release of paperwork associated to the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then the Duke of York, as a government trade envoy in 2001. He additionally needs any paperwork during which Peter Mandelson expressed a view on the appointment.
But Davey and the Liberal Democrats are clear that they’ve a broader objective in calling this debate.
As he printed the movement, Davey stated: “No one, regardless of their title or their friends, should be beyond the scrutiny of Parliament. It is time to end the age of impunity.”
In different phrases, at the moment’s debate is designed to reveal that Parliament generally – and the Lib Dems specifically – will scrutinise even the King’s brother.
Yet there are constraints on what might be mentioned later. Under Commons conference, MPs can be anticipated to keep away from criticising different royals past Mountbatten-Windsor.
And whereas MPs have privilege, defending no matter they are saying within the Commons at the moment, they’re prone to be warned by the Speaker at the beginning of the danger of prejudicing the police investigation into the previous Duke of York.
