The Royals should ban Andrew from Christmas

Sixty years ago, in the aftermath of one of the twentieth century’s most salacious scandals, the former MP John Profumo took on a role as a volunteer at the East End charity Toynbee Hall. The unpaid and distinctly unglamorous job, which saw Profumo serving meals to the homeless and cleaning toilets, became a kind of penance for the former secretary of state for war. In many people’s eyes, the gruelling charitable work eventually redeemed him for his tawdry affair with Christine Keeler. The penal reformer Lord Longford subsequently said that he felt more admiration for Profumo than anyone else he had known in his lifetime.

Should Prince Andrew – heaven forbid! – suddenly meet with a tragic accident, it is doubtful that he would engender such warm and compassionate responses. He has been mired in controversy and scandal for years, which shows no signs of abating.