Prince Andrew set for more humiliation as judges rule witness statement containing ‘embarrassing’ information should be released
A tribunal has decided that a witness statement made by one of Prince Andrew’s aides should be made public despite the fact the documents reportedly contain “embarrassing or indiscreet” comments made by the aide regarding Andrew.
Prince Andrew has been having a dreadful time as of late. But it’s difficult to feel sorry for him when he only has himself to blame – his association with Yang Tengbo, a suspected Chinese spy, is just the latest scandal Andrew has brought upon the royal family. Now it looks like the prince is set to have some embarrassing details made public. A legal challenge from the Guardian has resulted in a court ruling that the statement made by Dominic Hampshire, a close friend of Andrew’s, should be made public.
What does Dominic Hampshire’s statement say?
Mr. Hampshire’s 34-paragraph statement in support of Yang Tengbo has yet to be released, but the tribunal determined that the material within the document “cannot possibly be said to be confidential.” The statement contains vital details such as “information about Mr Hampshire’s background or about how he came to know Mr Yang.”
Other information mentioned in Hampshire’s statement include many things which were already public knowledge, such as the impact of the 2019 Newsnight interview, which spawned a Netflix dramatization last year. But what’s interesting is that the judgment notes there are “comments about Mr Hampshire’s work with the duke which might seem embarrassing or indiscreet.” While there is little elaboration, it’s certainly piqued our curiosity – did Hampshire perhaps say a little more than he ought to? What kind of embarrassing information did he disclose?
The tribunal has decided to release the statement
We probably won’t have to wait too long to find out what Prince Andrew’s embarrassing secret is as it was decided that the principle of “open justice” outweighed the discretion that the royal family may have been expecting from Hampshire. He had no contractual obligations of confidentiality and thus, the information should be made public regardless of the potential embarrassment it may cause Prince Andrew.
This is no doubt disturbing news for Andrew, who likely thought his secrets were safe with his friend. But alas, the courts do not care.
Prince Andrew and Yang Tengbo
Mr. Hampshire’s statement was a part of a legal proceeding brought about by Mr. Tengbo in an effort to overturn the immigration decision which barred him from entering the U.K. He was unsuccessful in his endeavour.
In 2023, Tengbo was accused of using his relationship with Andrew to act as a spy for the Chinese government. Details about Mr. Tengbo became public knowledge towards the end of last year causing quite the scandal for the prince and the rest of his family. Hampshire’s statement doesn’t sound like it will drop any bombshells, but whatever it contains, it will likely be another strike against a prince who has definitely had one too many chances.
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