Thames Valley Police conceded in the High Court that search warrants used to enter properties belonging to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were unlawful. The force accepted that flawed submissions were made to the Central Criminal Court when seeking authorization to search his residence at Sandringham Estate and Royal Lodge in Windsor. The legal challenge arose after Mountbatten-Windsor initiated a judicial review against the police and the issuing court.
Both sides reached an agreement that the warrants lacked lawful grounding.
Officers took possession of paper documents and electronic storage devices during raids earlier this year. Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, a step taken following disclosures in United States Justice Department files regarding his tenure as a United Kingdom trade envoy in 2010. The allegations suggest confidential communications were shared with convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein, though Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied all criminal wrongdoing.
Police accepted that statutory protections safeguarding confidential materials had not been properly satisfied before the judge who granted the orders. Mr Justice Hilliard clarified that while the contest
