Government buildings will not have to fly flag for Prince Andrew's birthday

UK government buildings will no longer be required to fly the union flag to mark the Duke of York’s 60th birthday on Wednesday, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has said.

Andrew stepped down from public life last November following the backlash from his disastrous Newsnight appearance about his dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A DCMS spokesman said: “Following the decision by the Duke of York to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, there is no longer a requirement for UK government buildings to fly the union flag on Wednesday 19 February.”

The decision follows an earlier ruling that councils should not have to fly the union flag on Andrew’s birthday. Previously a leaked email to local authorities had shown them being reminded to do so despite the controversy over his connections to Epstein.

At the time, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the email, sent by a civil servant in the local government ministry, was an “administrative email about long-standing policy”.

He said discussions were under way between the ministry and the royal household about a change.

Andrew recently decided to defer a military promotion to admiral “until such time that [he] returns to public duty”. It is still expected that his birthday will be marked by the ringing of bells at Westminster Abbey.