Warrants Used To Search Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's Homes Were Unlawful, Court Hears — But The Investigation Is Not Over

The High Court has heard that the search warrants used to raid Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's homes were unlawful. That does not end the police investigation, and officers will keep the items they seized for now.

What Happened In Court

On Thursday, Mr Justice Hilliard said Mountbatten-Windsor and Thames Valley Police had agreed that the warrants were unlawful, BBC News reports. Sky News reported the same agreement between the two sides.

The warrants were used to search two properties when he was arrested in February. They were quashed because of the legal route used to obtain them, not because of what the investigation is looking into.

Why Were They Unlawful?

According to the BBC, police applied for warrants under sections eight and nine of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 at the Central Criminal Court the day before the searches. The court decided only section eight warrants were needed and granted them on that basis.

A later legal challenge established that the court should have issued them under section nine. Thames Valley Police says it accepts that the court's original decision on the legislation was incorrect, so the warrants must be formally quashed.

The force stressed that the agreement "is not a judgement on our ongoing investigation."

So What Happens To The Seized Items?

Police took documents and electronic devices in the raids, the court heard. They will keep hold of them until a hearing in 2027.

The judge explained that someone holding property after an unlawful search can still keep it if it would be lawful to seize it under another provision once it was returned. He said there would be "little point in handing property back if it could then simply be lawfully seized under some other provision."

He also made clear that quashing the warrants "does not bring the investigation to an end or mean that the whole of the investigation is unlawful."

The Background

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to the BBC. The arrest followed US Department of Justice documents that suggested he had forwarded confidential information to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2010, when he was a UK trade envoy.

He denies any wrongdoing, and has consistently done so in relation to Epstein. His lawyers have brought a judicial review challenging the actions of the chief constable and the Central Criminal Court in the build-up to the arrest.

Thames Valley Police says its investigation, into a man in his 60s from Norfolk, remains ongoing and that it continues to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry.

What Happens Next

• The warrants are quashed, but the criminal investigation continues.
• Legal proceedings are still under way to decide how the seized material is managed and whether police can lawfully keep it.
• A further hearing on the seized items is due in 2027.

No charges have been announced.

What do you make of the ruling, and does it change how you see the case? Let us know in the comments.

Sources:

• BBC News
• Sky News