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LAST UPDATE | 26 mins ago
SEARCHES AT AN address in Berkshire relating to the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office have now ended, Thames Valley Police have said.
The former prince was arrested last Thursday and spent 11 hours in custody on his 66th birthday before being released under investigation.
He faces accusations of sharing sensitive information with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while acting as a special representative for UK trade and investment between 2001 and 2011.
Thames Valley Police began searching Mountbatten-Windsor’s home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk and Royal Lodge, his former residence in Berkshire, on the same day he was arrested.
They concluded searching his Norfolk residence that same day.
In a statement this evening, the force said: “Thames Valley Police can confirm the searches in Berkshire in connection to its investigation into the offence of misconduct in public office have now ended.”
Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Officers have now left the location we have been searching in Berkshire. This concludes the search activity that commenced following our arrest of a man in his sixties from Norfolk on Thursday.
“We understand the significant public interest in this case and our investigation remains ongoing.
“It is important that our investigators are given the time and space to progress their work. We will provide updates when it is appropriate to do so, but this is unlikely to be for some time.”
Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest came days before Peter Mandelson was also arrested following similar allegations of passing sensitive information to Epstein, during his time as business secretary.
The former Labour minister was released on bail in the early hours of Tuesday, after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Earlier today, the British government committed to releasing files related to Mountbatten-Windsor’s former role as a trade envoy, as the former prince was described as “a rude, arrogant and entitled man”.
However, MPs heard that material that police need for their inquiries would not be published until officers are “satisfied”.
In the House of Commons this afternoon, trade minister Chris Bryant described Mountbatten-Windsor as “a man on a constant self-aggrandising and self-enriching hustle” and “a rude, arrogant and entitled man who could not distinguish between the public interest, which he said he served, and his own private interest”.
Bryant backed Liberal Democrat-led calls to publish the papers on Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment to the role, including any vetting and any correspondence from Mandelson.
My speech today pic.twitter.com/VrkrPOEpXD
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) February 24, 2026
The party used a humble address, the same little-used mechanism the Tories used to press for the release of files on Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, to pressure the Labour government.
Speaking at the despatch box, Bryant said: “Let me be clear from the outset, we support this motion today.
“Frankly, it is the least we owe the victims of the horrific abuse that was perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein and others, the abuse that was enabled, aided and abetted by a very extensive group of arrogant, entitled and often very wealthy individuals in this country and elsewhere.
It’s not just the people who participated in the abuse. It’s the many, many more who turned a blind eye out of greed, familiarity or deference.
He later added: “As the police have rightly said, it is absolutely crucial that the integrity of their investigation is protected, and now these proceedings are under way, it would be wrong of me to say anything that might prejudice them, nor will the government be able to put into the public domain anything that is required by the police for them to conduct their inquiries, unless and until the police are satisfied.”
Bryant said he wants to “manage people’s expectations” about how quickly the papers on Mountbatten-Windsor can be released, due to the age and quantity of the material, and the live police investigation.
He said: “It’s worth bearing in mind that the documents that might be envisaged in this are mostly 25-years-old. Some of them are a bit earlier. They may be substantial in number and many of them will be in hard copy.”
The minister later added: “I am slightly trying to manage people’s expectations about timeliness, partly because of the quantity of material, and because there is a live police investigation, and I just don’t want to jeopardise that.”
Despite being stripped of his title last year, Mountbatten-Windsor is still eighth in line to the British throne, and an Act of Parliament would be required to prevent him from ever becoming king.
Bryant said the British government is “working at pace” to bring forward legislation on succession “where we can”, amid calls for King Charles’s disgraced brother to lose his right to the throne.
MPs approved the motion to release the documents on the nod, without a vote.
Opening the debate, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “Can there be many people more symbolic of the rot that eats away at the British establishment than the former duke of York and special trade envoy, and the former business secretary, first secretary of state and ambassador to the United States?
“Their association with Epstein and their actions on his behalf, while trusted with the privilege of public office, are a stain on our country.
“We must begin to clean away that stain with the disinfectant of transparency.”
Alex Burghart, the Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister, said his party welcomed the motion, but criticised the government for not disclosing the information without the need for a humble address.
“What would have been better is if the government had been proactive on this and had not had to be brought to the House by opposition parties in order to release this information,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Commons Business and Trade Committee said it would begin gathering information ahead of a potential inquiry into the trade envoy system, but a final decision would not be taken until after any case against Mountbatten-Windsor had concluded.
The first release of files relating to Mandelson is expected in early March, with the due diligence report compiled during the process of appointing him as ambassador to the US expected to be included in the release.
But other documents will be held back while the police continue their inquiries.
With reporting from Press Association
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