Defence Minister Luke Pollard has become the first senior Cabinet Minister to back calls for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be removed from the line of succession as police continue to search the Royal Lodge.

A convoy of unmarked police vehicles arrived at the gates to Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Andrew’s former home, this morning as searches are expected to continue over the weekend and into Monday. 

It comes as pressure mounts for Andrew to be removed from line of royal succession as the Labour MP, Mr Pollard, said it was ‘the right thing to do’ when he was ‘only a heartbeat away’ from the throne as eighth in line, regardless of what the result of the police investigation was.

Speaking last night, he confirmed that the government was actively considering introducing legislation to take away his right of succession once the police investigation into him had been concluded.

‘Being able to set out very clearly what the standards are that we as a nation expect and what are those British values that we can be proud of points in the direction that it is the right thing to stop someone who can potentially be a heartbeat away from the throne,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions programme.

Mr Pollard said he hoped the proposals would ‘enjoy cross party support’ and ‘it was right that it is something that only happens when the police investigation concludes’.

An Act of Parliament would be required to remove Andrew along with the support of the 14 Commonwealth countries where the King is Head of State, including New Zealand, Canada and Australia, where legislation would also be needed.

Last night, Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray confirmed that the Government was ‘considering any further steps that might be required’, and are not ruling anything out.

Andrew is pictured being driven away from Aylsham Police Station on Thursday following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office

An Act of Parliament would be required to remove Andrew along with the support of the 14 Commonwealth countries where the King is Head of State, including New Zealand, Canada and Australia, where legislation would also be needed (Pictured: Andrew and King Charles at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral last year)

‘But’, he told Sky News, ‘At this stage, it would be inappropriate for us to go any further because there is a live police investigation under way’. 

On Thursday evening, he was released from police custody after 11 hours of questioning on what was his 66th birthday after his sensational early morning arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He became the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested.

He was questioned by Thames Valley Police over allegations he shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.

Meanwhile, Royal Lodge in Windsor was still being searched today by police with vehicles coming and going from the estate where Andrew lived, in the 30-room mansion, from 2004 until recently.

Yesterday, more than 20 vehicles were seen parked at the property, although it was not known whether they were all connected to the investigation and searches.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government is set to consider introducing legislation to remove Andrew from succession once police have finished their investigation into the King’s disgraced brother.

The Government’s proposal comes ahead of Parliament’s return on Monday and after some MPs, including the Liberal Democrats and SNP, signalled their support for such legislation.

Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Layla Moran told the BBC today that she had tried to put forward a backbench Bill yesterday to remove Andrew from the line of succession but that it would need to be put forward ‘in government time’.

‘If you can’t be a prince then you shouldn’t be king,’ she said. ‘There is a bizarre quirk of the way the line of succession works where Andrew could still become king and there would be protests in the streets if that happened and that would be the end of the monarchy.’

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, she called for an ‘independent public inquiry’ into ‘who knew what when about what the Epstein Files have shown’.

Other MPs are said to believe that formal legislation is not required because Andrew is too far removed from the throne to be a concern.

However, supporters of the legislation point out that it is feasible that although he is only eighth in line, he could become a Regent to William’s children in extreme circumstances if anything were to happen to both King Charles and Prince William.

He was stripped of his titles last October by King Charles over his ties to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, but remained in the line of succession.

He had stepped down from public duties back in 2019 over allegations about his friendship with Epstein, in the wake of his disastrous Newsnight interview.

But pressure has grown for further action following continued allegations about Andrew after the further release of documents and photographs from the Epstein Files.

It is understood that Thames Valley Police are yet to receive any ‘early investigative advice’ from the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to the allegation.

In a separate review, the Met last night called on Andrew’s former security and close protection officers to come forward and reveal what they know about Andrew and Epstein, particularly about his activities on the late financier’s island.

Detectives asked them to ‘consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard’ during their service could be relevant to the investigation into Epstein and his associates.

The force has previously said it was looking into allegations, but Andrew’s protection officers turned a ‘blind eye’ to his visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James.

Andrew’s primary accuser, Virginia Giuffre, alleged she had sex with him during an orgy with ‘underage’ girls on the Caribbean island.

Police are yet to identify any wrongdoing by his close protection officers.

The Met said it was also working with US counterparts to look at whether flights into London airports had been used to ‘facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation’.

It also confirmed that no new reports of alleged sexual offences had been made since the release of millions of pages of documents related to Epstein by the US Department of Justice.

Ten police forces are currently looking into or considering investigations into Andrew.

Buckingham Palace has not publicly commented on the government’s plans to remove Andrew from the line of succession, but a Palace source said:

‘The matter of removing Mr Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession is purely a matter for Parliament and, of course, we would never get in the way of that or oppose the will of Parliament.’

Andrew has denied any wrongdoing over his Epstein links but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.

This weekend, the Royal Family will be attempting to conduct their duties as usual with the Prince and Princess of Wales expected to appear in public. 

After Andrew’s arrest, the King said in a statement that ‘the law must take its course’ and the police have ‘our full and wholehearted support and co-operation’. 

Charles attended the first show of London Fashion Week on Thursday, hours after Andrew’s arrest, where he did not respond when asked for his reaction to the news.

During a visit to a concert in Westminster that afternoon, the Queen also did not reply to a question about her brother-in-law’s arrest.