Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has written to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to say he would back any UK government plan to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession, a statement shared by Starmer's office said.
"In light of recent events concerning Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, I am writing to confirm that my government would agree to any proposal to remove him from the line of royal succession," the statement said.
Last week, a UK official said the British government was considering introducing legislation to ensure Mountbatten-Windsor, currently eighth-in-line to the throne, could never be king following his arrest as part of a police investigation into his alleged ties with Jeffrey Epstein.
King Charles is not only the Monarch and Head of State in Britain, but also in Australia and 13 other countries.
"I agree with His Majesty that the law must now take its full course and there must be a full, fair and proper investigation," Albanese letter said.
"These are grave allegations and Australians take them seriously," he added.
Meanwhile, a senior Conservative MP and the former Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, has raised the prospect of treason as he calls for a parliamentary inquiry into Epstein-linked allegations involving the former prince and Lord Mandelson, citing potential foreign influence and national security risks.
In an interview with The Sun on Sunday newspaper, Tugendhat said the body should have powers to summon witnesses and demand documents to examine claims of foreign influence and national security risks linked to the Epstein scandal.
Tugendhat questioned what ministers and the Palace knew about the allegations and whether Britain’s treason laws, written more than 700 years ago, need to be updated. He said Parliament must consider what the scandal means for the country beyond a court's decision.
Under UK law, treason includes plotting the death of the monarch, waging war against the Crown, or aiding the King’s enemies. If proven, it is one of the most serious crimes in British law.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Mandelson are both under police investigation for alleged misconduct in public office.
Former Prince Andrew was arrested and released last week and is under investigation over claims he allegedly passed confidential reports while serving as a trade envoy. Mandelson is alleged to have shared market-sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein while a government minister. Both deny any wrongdoing.
If treason were proven, it would be one of the gravest crimes against the Crown and therefore against Andrew's mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The last person convicted of treason in the UK, Jaswant Singh Chail, was jailed in 2023 over a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth, for which he was sentenced to nine years. He was arrested on Christmas Day in 2021 at Windsor Castle with a crossbow. He pleaded guilty under the Treason Act 1842.
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The UK will pay France £16.2 million to continue beach patrols for two months, as both sides race to agree a new deal to curb small boat crossings across the Channel amid rising migrant numbers and political pressure.
Russia has expelled a British diplomat, accusing him of economic espionage in a move that further strains already tense relations between Moscow and London. The United Kingdom described the action as intimidation and rejected the allegations outright, Reuters reports.
Georgia’s Minister of Economy, Mariam Kvrivishvili, met UK Ambassador Gareth Edward Ward in Tbilisi on 27–28 March to discuss trade, investment and transport links between Georgia and the United Kingdom.
One U.S. crew member has been rescued after two American warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, as the search continues for a missing pilot, while President Donald Trump has given Tehran 48 hours to agree to a deal to end the war.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and protect commercial shipping, diplomats said on Friday, amid opposition from China to any authorisation of force.
One crew member from a U.S. warplane shot down over Iran has been rescued, U.S. officials said, as a search continues for a second crew member.
The U.S. rescued an airman missing from one of two warplanes downed in Iran, two U.S. officials said, as President Donald Trump and Israel stepped up pressure on Iran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on energy facilities.
The family of the late Virginia Giuffre have urged King Charles III to meet survivors of sexual abuse during his upcoming state visit to the United States.
Fuel leaked at Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, while the NORSI oil refinery caught fire following drone attacks, Russian authorities said on Sunday (5 April).
The family of the late Virginia Giuffre have urged King Charles III to meet survivors of sexual abuse during his upcoming state visit to the United States.
British police have arrested a fourth person in connection with an arson attack on ambulances belonging to a Jewish community charity. The arrest took place at a London court on Saturday, where three other suspects were already appearing.
Senegal has taken steps to curb government spending by banning non-essential foreign travel for ministers, as rising global oil prices place increasing pressure on the country’s finances.
Five people have been killed and 19 others injured in a Russian drone strike on a market in the front-line Ukrainian city of Nikopol, Ukrainian officials say.
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