By Daniel Wood
Prince Andrew said yesterday that he was stepping back from public life as his former association with Jefferey Epstein had become a ‘major disruption to his families work’.
The Duke of York has Faced Heavy Scrutiny Over his Connection to Convicted Sex Offender Epstein.
It has now been confirmed that, following discussions with the University, he will step down as Chancellor with immediately to allow the University to appoint a successor.
He was made Chancellor in 2015 and was supposed to stay in the role for 5 years.
The announcement comes after students of the University voted for Prince Andrew to quit as Chancellor.
You can read the full statement from the university below.
“HRH The Duke of York has announced he is stepping back from Royal duties for a period of time.
Due to the circumstances and in discussion with the University, he has decided to step down immediately to allow the University to appoint a successor. HRH The Duke of York was conferred as Chancellor of the University in 2015 for a period of five years and the University would like to thank The Duke for his work during his period as Chancellor.
The Duke has informed the University that ‘he continues to unequivocally condemn Jeffrey Epstein’s activities and regrets his ill-judged association with him. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and he deeply sympathises with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure’.
The University would also like to express our deep sympathy to all of those victims and families that have been affected and we do hope that they are getting the support they need.
The process of appointing a new Chancellor will be initiated at the University Council meeting on the 27 November with the aim of confirming the new appointment at the following Council meeting on the 19 March 2020. The new Chancellor will be installed at the July 2020 Graduation ceremonies.
As with previous Chancellor appointments, nominations will be sought from current and past students, staff and the wider Huddersfield community. The nominations will then be considered by a panel that includes student and staff representation and will be chaired by the Chair of the University Council who is independent of the University.
The Student Voice is extremely important to the University and so the Students’ Union will coordinate the nominations process and the timings and mechanism of this will be announced next week, following the University Council meeting.”