Hospital staff ‘disciplined’ over missing plaque

Staff at a Belfast hospital were disciplined after a plaque marking its formal opening by the Duke of York went missing, according to emails seen by the BBC.

The plaque sparked an investigation by health officials after it was removed without permission from Belfast City Hospital in January 2022.

It came after Prince Andrew faced civil action in the US over sexual assault allegations – claims he has denied.

The Belfast Trust said the plaque has since been recovered, staff “behaviours” were addressed “in accordance with trust disciplinary procedures,” and no decision has been made on reinstating the plaque.

Prince Andrew officially opened the Belfast City Hospital tower in June 1986, and a plaque marking the occasion was placed near the front entrance.

It went missing after the Duke of York was sued by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged he sexually assaulted her in 2001 when she was 17.

The case was settled out of court without Prince Andrew accepting liability, but he agreed to pay an unspecified amount to Ms Giuffre and to her charity for victims’ rights.

Amid the controversy, his military titles and royal patronages were returned to the late Elizabeth II.

At the time, the Belfast Trust said the plaque was removed “without direction” and it had launched an investigation “into its whereabouts”.

According to emails obtained by BBC News NI, the trust carried out a “significant event audit” on the removal of the plaque, which lasted several months.

The incident was investigated by independent consultants appointed by officials, according to an email from a senior staff member in December 2023.

That staff member said it led to “action taken to address staff behaviours in accordance with trust disciplinary procedures”.

In another email, he said it had been claimed the plaque had been removed “out of sensitivities arising from allegations circulating on national media at the time”.

The trust had received a complaint in January 2022 saying the plaque was “causing offence” and asking for it to be removed, according to the emails.

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) health spokesperson Colin McGrath described the idea of staff being disciplined over the matter as “outrageous”.

The Stormont assembly member said that “if anything, they’ve done the trust a favour by removing the reference”.

“Either back your staff or back a commemorative display for Prince Andrew. I know which side I would be on,” he added.

People Before Profit (PBP) 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.”

In a statement, the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust said no decision had been made on reinstating the plaque at the city hospital.

“A thorough investigation was carried out by Belfast Trust, and action was taken to address staff behaviours in accordance with trust disciplinary procedures,” a spokesman said.

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

Details of the plaque’s disappearance have emerged ahead of the latest TV drama series about Prince Andrew’s headline-making interview with journalist Emily Maitlis for BBC Newsnight.

The 2019 interview, widely viewed as a “car crash,” saw the Duke of York talk candidly about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The three-part Amazon Prime series A Very Royal Scandal comes just months after a rival dramatisation of the Newsnight interview, Scoop, was released on Netflix.

In the weeks after the plaque went missing, some Northern Ireland political parties had called for the Union flag not to be flown at Belfast City Hall to mark Prince Andrew’s birthday.

Councillors later agreed to the move, instead deciding it should be flown on 1 July to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.