Police accept Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor search warrants were unlawful, court hears

Thames Valley Police has acknowledged that the search warrants used to enter Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor’s residences earlier this year were unlawful, the High Court was told. The force conceded that the allegations presented to the Old Bailey concerning the warrants targeting the former Prince Andrew’s Sandringham estate and the Royal Lodge in Windsor were incorrect. Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor was detained by Thames Valley Police in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office; he maintains his innocence. The warrants were issued prior to his arrest, and his legal team is contesting their validity through a judicial review that examines the conduct of the force’s chief constable and the Central Criminal Court. His February arrest followed the release of documents by the United States Department of Justice indicating that he may have transmitted confidential information to a convicted sex offender while serving as a UK trade envoy in 2010. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing linked to Jeffrey Epstein. During Thursday’s hearing, the court learned that Thames Valley Police seized documents and electronic devices during the raids on Andrew’s properties. The warrants stipulated that there must have been reasonable grounds to believe that any documents employed for business or in a paid or unpaid capacity, where an assurance undertaking had been given, should not be confiscated. Thames Valley Police now admits that the magistrate who authorized the warrants could not have been certain of satisfying that condition. Read the full story at BBC News →