Prince Andrew to stand down as UK trade envoy

The Duke of York is to stand down as UK trade envoy, the BBC understands.

Buckingham Palace is expected to confirm that Prince Andrew will give up his title as Britain's "special representative" for Trade and Investment later.

The prince has been criticised over his friendship with controversial figures, including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier.

The prince has held the role as UK envoy since 2001.

His remit is to promote Britain's business interests around the world.

His friendship with Mr Epstein, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution, led to calls for Prince Andrew to step down from his role in March, but Prime Minister David Cameron gave him his full backing.

The prince's judgement has also been questioned for holding meetings with Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif, and for entertaining the son-in-law of Tunisia's ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali at Buckingham Palace.
'Inevitable'

The prince's relations with Timor Kulibayev, the son-in-law of the President of Kazakhstan, have also previously been questioned. Mr Kulibayev purchased the duke's Sunninghill Park home for £3m more than its £12m asking price in 2007.

And in November 2010 a hitherto secret cable published on Wikileaks revealed a US ambassador wrote that the Duke of York spoke "cockily" during an official engagement, leading a discussion that "verged on the rude".

The BBC's royal correspondent Peter Hunt said it was his friendship with Mr Epstein's that had "sealed the fate of a senior royal whose judgement has been called into question more than once", and it had been "inevitable" that Prince Andrew would step down since March.

Matters had been made worse when his former wife Sarah Ferguson admitted having accepted £15,000 from Mr Epstein, to help pay off her debts, he said.

"In the four months since these facts became public, royal and government officials have been grappling with the challenge of what to do with the Duke of York."
'Next natural step'

But our correspondent said there would undoubtedly be some supporters who thought Prince Andrew had opened doors only a royal could open, and said he worked hard for British business.

It is not yet clear what Prince Andrew's future role will be.

Former trade minister Lord Digby Jones said although Prince Andrew's title was going, his job would be "very much the same", and "the next natural step".

"With one big add on, a bit less travelling and a lot more working with apprenticeships and young people in Britain to get them skilled up to make stuff the UK can sell round the world," he said.

"[Prince Andrew has] put the country first and it's important we, as business, say, let's use what he can do to actually create some profit, employ some people, pay some tax," he said.

The UK's trade envoy works for UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), which reports jointly to the Foreign Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

He does not receive a salary but has his expenses and travel costs paid.