Prince Andrew: student body calls for royal to step down as chancellor

The University of Huddersfield has said it will consult its student body over Prince Andrew’s position as chancellor after a panel voted unanimously to lobby for the duke’s resignation from the post.

The university’s reaction is the latest blow for the Duke of York, who is facing mounting pressure over his friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as a number of senior politicians criticised him and business partners dropped him.

A Huddersfield Students’ Union panel approved a motion calling for Prince Andrew’s removal from his ceremonial post at the university that read: “We as students at the University of Huddersfield and members of Huddersfield Students’ Union should not be represented by a man with ties to organised child sexual exploitation and assault.

“We need to put survivors of sexual assault above royal connections and show students, alumni and prospective students that this institution cares about their wellbeing, irrespective of the status of the alleged perpetrator,” it continued.

A spokesperson for the university told the Guardian on Tuesday: “We are aware of the students’ union meeting last night and the motion it passed regarding the chancellor. We listen to our students’ views and concerns and we will now be consulting with them over the coming weeks.”

The duke, 59, has faced a growing backlash since he defended his friendship with Epstein in a TV interview with the BBC presenter Emily Maitlis on Saturday night.

The former Labour MP Chuka Umunna, now a candidate for the Liberal Democrats, called Prince Andrew “a complete disgrace” on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday.

“I cannot believe the interview that happened,” Umunna said. “I do not understand why public figures, particularly politicians, have been pulling their punches on this.”

Umunna added he thought the duke had let down the institution of monarchy and had shown a “breathtaking” lack of self-awareness.

While the shadow justice secretary, Robert Buckland, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday that it was not appropriate for him to comment, the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, told Sky News: “I think he [Prince Andrew] should cooperate with all the authorities and make sure justice is served.”

On Monday, it emerged that the accountancy firm KPMG was not renewing its sponsorship of the duke’s entrepreneurial scheme Pitch@Palace. Other companies supporting the scheme said they were reviewing their involvement.

The Outward Bound Trust, which the duke supports as patron, said it would hold a board meeting in the next few days to discuss issues raised by the prince’s televised rebuttal of accusations and criticism.

In the interview, the prince denied having had any sexual contact with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre (formerly Roberts), at the London nightclub Tramp in 2001, and said his alibi was a visit to a Woking branch of Pizza Express with his then 12-year-old daughter Beatrice, as well as a medical condition that made it “almost impossible” for him to sweat.

A woman who claims Epstein committed a “vicious, prolonged sexual assault” against her when she was 15 called on Prince Andrew to come forward with information about the convicted sex offender on Monday.

She is one of about a dozen women suing the late financier’s estate for alleged sexual abuses.