Mr Andrew Mountbatten Windsor (now Mountbatten-Windsor)

Updated post 15 November 2025

On Thursday 30 October 2025, a statement was issued from Buckingham Palace -  

'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.

His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.

Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.

These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.

Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.'

 

 

Whilst the statement does not set out details of the 'formal process' it is obviously based on the premise that HM The King is legally entitled to remove Andrew's titles.

 

In the light of various Parliamentary publications, it is questionable whether that premise is entirely accurate in relation to peerages.

 

The reference

Housing - Selective Licensing

Within both the nation generally and the business community there are serious concerns about the forthcoming budget to be delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 26 November 2025 - see, for example, BBC News 28 October 2025. It is likely that an already hard-pressed population will face additional taxation. Taxe rises on business will doubtless be passed on to customers. Public services are likely to face cuts. 

It is against this political background that the Chancellor (Rachel Reeves MP - Leeds West and Pudsey) is facing criticism because she did not obtain a selective licence which is required to rent out her property in Dulwich, part of the London Borough of Southwark - BBC News 29 October 2025 and see Southwark Selective Licensing.

Selective Licensing arises

Section 60 Order at Southport

On 26 October, Merseyside Police announced that a "section 60 order" was in place in a defined part of Southport - see the announcement. The order was put in place as part of policing a ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march.  

The actual legislation is section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

 

The order gives officers

Criminal damage aimed at impairing the delivery of aid to Ukraine - Sentencing

At the Old Bailey on 24 October 2025, six individuals were sentenced by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb. Sentencing remarks are available via the judiciary website. They were a group who carried out a serious act of criminal damage intended by their paymasters to impair the delivery of aid to Ukraine.

The 6 individuals were: DYLAN JAMES EARL, JAKE SAMUEL REEVES, NII KOJO MENSAH, JAKEEM BARRINGTON ROSE, UGNIUS ASMENA, ASHTON EVANS. The defendants were aged between 19 and 22 years at the relevant time. 

Dylan Earl:

He was sentenced (para 24) for 

Soldier F - Non-jury trial in Northern Ireland

Update: Thursday 23 October - Soldier F found not guilty on all counts

Fifteen years ago, this blog published On-going matters in Northern Ireland: a legacy of the Diplock Courts. 

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry Report had just been published - see Law and Lawyers 15^th June 2010.  The Inquiry report may be seen HERE.

The Inquiry was chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate. In October 2020, he gave evidence to the House of Commons Northern Ireland affairs Committee.

During "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, Lord Diplock  (1907-1985) suggested a form of non-jury trial for what were known as "scheduled offences." Diplock’s report can be seen here.  

Under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 the Diplock court system was replaced by a revised system in which the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland may issue a certificate to require trial to  be conducted without a jury. The applicable conditions are in section 1 of the Act. The legislation has been kept in force and was recently extended - see the 2025 Order.

 

Such a trial

Palestine Action ~ Judicial Review of proscription may proceed

Following a judgment by the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), the judicial review of the decision to proscribe Palestine Action may proceed on grounds specified in the judgment.

The King (Huda Ammori) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1311 

Previous post 24 June 2025 

This appeal was concerned solely with the question of whether the challenge could proceed by way of judicial review in the High Court or should be considered by the Secretary of State with any appeal being heard by Proscribed Organisations Appeals Commission (POAC). The appeal had nothing to do with the substantive merits of the challenge.

Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations (gov.uk)

Concern raised over discontinued Official Secrets Act 1911 cases

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) discontinued prosecutions brought, under the Official Secrets Act 1911, against two men: Christopher Clark and Christopher Berry - The Independent (15 September 2025).

Mr Cash was a parliamentary researcher who worked with senior politicians from the Conservative Party, with a focus on security and foreign affairs. Mr Berry is an academic based in Oxfordshire who had taught in China since 2015. The two men were accused of being in contact with each other and a person suspected of being a Chinese intelligence agent. 

When the men were charged, the CPS issued a statement (22 April 2024) setting out details of the charges. The charges included the phrase 'useful to an enemy'

It was clearly incumbent on the prosecution to establish that "useful to an enemy" included China.

In 

Judicial Review - Notes for Students

Introduction

Public Law Project describes JUDICIAL REVIEW as 'a way of challenging the decisions, acts (and sometimes the failure to act) of a public body, because it has not acted lawfully. It is a court procedure, brought in a branch of the High Court known as the Administrative Court, or in relation to certain types of case, in the Upper Tribunal' - (see Introduction to Judicial Review - pdf).

The key to judicial review lies in the words 'lawfully' and 'public body.'  Essentially, the court is not concerned with the merits of the action taken by a public body but the court is concerned with whether the action taken is lawful. A basic example arises when the court ensures that a public body acts within the powers given to that public body by Parliament. 

 

When they are deciding judicial review cases, judges

Does membership of the Council of Europe require adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)?

A report prepared by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar KC (Shadow Attorney-General) and Helen Grant (Shadow Solicitor General) has been published - Wolfson Report. The report is headed - ADVICE TO THE LEADER OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY RE ECHR. 

It is well-known by now that both Reform UK and now the Conservative Party plan to denounce the European Convention of Human Rights which is seen by politicians connected with those parties as an obstacle to them achieving aims such as introducing tougher controls over immigration and making deportations easier.

Image - Palais de l'Europe, Strasbourg

Wolfson's general conclusion is that the UK could denounce the ECHR and not suffer major international difficulties in so doing. In common with several other commentators, I profoundly disagree - (see, for example, the links at the end of this post).

One particular question

Eight men jailed for sexually abusing child (aged 15) in Bradford during the period 2002-4

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has reported the sentencing of eight men for their roles in the sexual exploitation of a vulnerable child in Bradford more than 20 years ago. - CPS News 3 October 2025.

The CPS notes that - Reporting restrictions have now been lifted, allowing the case to be reported for the first time since proceedings began in January 2025.

The various convictions arise from three trials. 

 

Rape convictions were:

Powers to stop protest ~ Public Order Act 1986

Addition 5 October 2025 and 6 October 2025

One of the headlines to catch my eye this morning was The Guardian's - Police ask for Palestine Action protest to be postponed to free up officers in wake of terror attack. The report states that - 'Police have asked organisers of a mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action to postpone it so that resources can be used to protect Jewish and Muslim communities after the terror attack at a Manchester synagogue.'

It is also reported that Defend Our Juries said that it intends to go ahead with its action on Saturday.

 

The terror attack referred to is the Thursday (2 October) attack at a synagogue

DHSC v PPE Medpro [2025] EWHC 2486 (Comm)

Remember the Covid-19 pandemic / crisis back in 2020 - 21?  This blog covered the pandemic extensively during those difficult times - (e.g. HERE).

Remember the urgent need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in hospitals and elsewhere?

Remember the "High Priority Lane" (HPL) by which Ministers granted PPE contracts to numerous companies some of which had no prior experience of manufacturing such equipment to the required standards? 

PPE Medpro was incorporated