Public right to demand titles 'more integrity' from Andrew, Kemi Badenoch says as disgraced royal is cut adrift by King
The Tory leader said the reaction to the scandal showed the public 'had no truck whatsoever' with sexual abuse
Kemi Badenoch has told LBC that it is "quite right" that the public wanted Andrew stripped of his Prince title and removed from the Royal Lodge, after the King cut his disgraced brother adrift.
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The Leader of the Opposition backed the decision shortly after the King announced that the formal process to strip the titles from Prince Andrew had begun.
Buckingham Palace also announced that it was looking to remove Andrew from his residence at the Royal Lodge.
Mrs Badenoch told Iain Dale on LBC: "It's a very sad state of affairs. I think that the King has clearly felt that this is the right decision for the Royal Family.
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"It must have been a very difficult thing for him to have done, having to do that to your own brother. But the standards and expectations in society now are very high.
"People expect to see the very highest levels of integrity. And I'm afraid the whole Jeffrey Epstein saga and everyone it has touched, from Prince Andrew to Peter Mandelson, has just shown that the public has no truck whatsoever with any kind of sexual abuse, sexual offences, especially of minors. And I think that that's quite right".
It is understood that although Andrew denies the accusations, Buckingham Palace considers that there have been “serious lapses of judgment”.
A statement from Buckingham Palace on Thursday evening said: "His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.
"Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor."