Police who executed search warrants at former Prince Andrew’s residences earlier this year have conceded that the searches were unlawful, marking a significant victory for him in his lawsuit against the authorities.
On Thursday, Justice Nicholas Hilliard of the High Court in London ruled that Thames Valley Police had mishandled the application for the warrants to search the homes of the man now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
“It is agreed that a lawful warrant could only have been issued if the criteria under different provisions…had been met,” Justice Hilliard stated in his ruling.
According to a report from Newsweek, Hilliard explained that the law allows a judge to determine that someone possessing property obtained through an unlawful search warrant may retain it if it could otherwise be legitimately seized under different legal grounds after being returned to the owner.
“There would be little point in handing property back if it could then simply be lawfully seized under some other provision,” he added.
The police have admitted that the warrants were requested under the incorrect section of the relevant law.
“The agreement that led to the quashing of the warrants specifically concerns a court decision regarding their legal basis, and is not a judgement on our ongoing investigation,” a spokesperson for Thames Valley Police noted in a statement.
“We acknowledge that the initial court’s decision to issue warrants under the specific legislation was incorrect, and therefore these must be legally quashed,” the spokesperson continued.
Meanwhile, the police will keep the materials obtained during the searches as the High Court deliberates on how to proceed in light of the overturned warrants.
“Legal proceedings are still underway to determine how to handle the material seized during the searches and whether we can lawfully retain it to support our investigation,” the police stated. “Our inquiry into alleged misconduct by a 60-year-old man from Norfolk is ongoing, and we are exploring all reasonable avenues to advance this investigation fairly and effectively.”
“Due to these ongoing legal proceedings, we can’t provide any further comment at this time,” they added.
The searches were part of an investigation into allegations of sexual assault and misconduct involving Mountbatten-Windsor, particularly related to his connections with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The former prince, brother of King Charles III, was detained at his residence on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk back in February, questioned about his conduct while in office, but was released without charges by the end of the day.
Both the Sandringham estate and Mountbatten-Windsor’s residence at Royal Lodge in Windsor were subjected to raids during the investigation.
