Keir Starmer to face PMQs amid calls to strip Prince Andrew of dukedom

Keir Starmer is set to face questions from the opposition amid calls for his government to strip Prince Andrew of the title, which would require an Act of Parliament.

The SNP is putting forward a motion to pressure the Prime Minister into taking action after Andrew relinquished his Duke of York title last week, following further fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Starmer could also face questions about his Government’s handling of the national grooming gangs inquiry after four survivors of abuse quit their roles in the probe.

Two survivors, Fiona Goddard and Ellie-Ann Reynolds, resigned on Monday, with two unnamed women following them on Tuesday.

The women cited heavy criticism of the Home Office’s handling of the issue.

They expressed particular concerns over attempts to widen the scope of the inquiry and about the candidates being considered to chair it, one of whom was reportedly a former police chief and the other a social worker.

In an attempt to assuage concerns over the establishment of the inquiry, home secretary Shabana Mahmood insisted on Tuesday night that its scope “will not change”.

Writing in The Times and for GB News, she said the inquiry “is not, and will never be, watered down on my watch” and would focus on how “some of the most vulnerable people in this country” were abused “at the hands of predatory monsters”.

Adding that it was “essential that the victims are at the heart of this inquiry” she expressed regret that the four women had decided to step down from the panel.

The Prime Minister may also be pressed again on his Government’s handling of the so-called China spy case.

Starmer promised last week that Government witness statements submitted by the UK Government as part of the collapsed trial of Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry would be published in full.

Both men, who deny wrongdoing, had been accused of passing secrets to China, but charges against them were dropped last month.

Starmer and Badenoch clashed at PMQs last week over the case, with Starmer accusing the Tory leader of “playing politics with national security” while Badenoch said the “spies were charged under a Conservative government” and were “let off under Labour”.