Peer ‘shocked’ that watchdog has not established Andrew’s property income

Margaret Hodge concerned over use of taxpayers’ money after revelations about former prince’s subletting

A former chair of an influential parliamentary committee said it was “shocking” that the public spending watchdog had not established Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s income from subletting properties.

Margaret Hodge, who led the public accounts committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she was “very concerned” that the National Audit Office (NAO) was not able to find out how much money the former prince had made from letting properties.

She also raised concerns that a report by the NAO did not cover all of the crown estate properties.

Hodge made her comments after the NAO revealed Mountbatten-Windsor received private income from subletting three cottages on his Windsor Royal Lodge estate while paying a “peppercorn rent” to the crown estate.

The Labour peer, who was chair of the committee from 2010 to 2015, said: “We all want a royal family to be continued to be respected, valued and treasured. I want a royal family, but in a modern era that does require proper transparency and accountability. It’s shocking that the National Audit Office was not able to establish how much money Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor secured from the properties he let.

“The other thing that is worrying is that people like Beatrice and Eugenie and the Kents – Prince Michael of Kent and his wife – were also being subsidised in the way that they were living on the estate, they weren’t paying rent, and yet they’re not working royals. Now, is it appropriate for non-working royals to be subsidised by the taxpayer from a fund that belongs to the taxpayer?”

Hodge added: “The crown estates is our money, it’s taxpayers’ money, it’s not theirs, and whoever runs that has to always ensure the taxpayers’ interest.”