Plaque commemorating Prince Andrew ripped from hospital wall as staff disciplined

It comes after the Duke of York faced civil action in the US over sexual assault allegations. Prince Andrew has strongly denied these claims.

The Belfast Trust, which runs the hospital, said that no decision had been made regarding the plaque staff "behaviours" were addressed "in accordance with trust disciplinary procedures."

The plaque was placed near the front entrance in June 1986 marking the occasion when Prince Andrew officially opened the building.

The Belfast Trust said the plaque was removed "without direction" after the Duke of York was sued by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged he sexually assaulted her in 2001 when she was 17. The Trust said it had launched an investigation "into its whereabouts".

The BBC reports the trust carried out a "significant event audit" on the removal of the plaque, which lasted several months. According to an email from a senior staff member in December 2023, the incident was investigated by independent consultants appointed by officials.

In another email, a staff member said it had been claimed the plaque had been removed "out of sensitivities arising from allegations circulating on national media at the time."

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People Before Profit (PBP) Stormont assembly member Gerry Carroll said the hospital should not have a plaque bearing Prince Andrew's name.

"I have no doubt that workers and the general public would be aghast to find out that this existed. Workers in the hospital shouldn’t be reprimanded for stating their opposition to this."

A spokesman from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust told the BBC: "A thorough investigation was carried out by Belfast Trust, and action was taken to address staff behaviours in accordance with trust disciplinary procedures.

"A decision has not yet been made regarding the plaque, and it remains in storage."

It comes as Michael Sheen will be portraying the Duke in the upcoming series A Very Royal Scandal, which depicts the interview in which former BBC journalist Emily Maitlis grilled Andrew over his friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

During the Newsnight interview, the duke was questioned on allegations that Epstein’s victim Virginia Giuffre was trafficked to have sex with him when she was aged 17.

Following the BBC broadcast in November 2019 and the furore over Andrew’s friendship with Epstein, the duke stepped down from public life.

The 64-year-old strongly denies the claims he sexually assaulted Giuffre and in 2022 paid millions to her to settle a civil case out of court with no admission of guilt.