Thames Valley Police has accepted that the warrants used to search Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's homes before his arrest in February were unlawful, the High Court has been told. Judge Mr Justice Hilliard said on Thursday that Mountbatten-Windsor and the police had agreed that the search warrants were unlawful, and the warrants were quashed.
Items seized during the raids continue to be held by police. A further hearing is expected in 2027 to decide whether the material can be used as evidence. Mountbatten-Windsor opposes the police's bid to retain the seized material.
The former prince was arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office and denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers used a judicial review to challenge the actions of the force's chief constable and the Central Criminal Court in the build-up to his arrest. The force said it accepted that the 'initial court's decision to issue warrants under the specific piece of legislation used was incorrect'.
The arrest followed the publication of documents by the US Department of Justice which raised suspicions that Mountbatten-Windsor had forwarded confidential information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein when he was a UK trade envoy in 2010. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The judge stressed that the ruling did not end the investigation. 'The fact that the search warrants were quashed does not bring the investigation to an end or mean that the whole of the investigation is unlawful,' he said. The criminal investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor remains ongoing.