Ex-prince Andrew search warrants quashed after police accept legal error

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LONDON — British police on Thursday said that search warrants it secured to search properties linked to King Charles' younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had been incorrectly granted and must be quashed.

King Charles' younger ​brother was arrested on ‌suspicion of misconduct in public office in February and searches carried out at properties in Sandringham, eastern England, and Windsor.

Andrew was suspected of leaking confidential government documents to the late convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein when Andrew was a British trade representative, between 2001 and 2011.

Police have not charged him and Andrew, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, also saying he regrets their friendship.

The arrest of Mountbatten-Windsor, and the anger over his relationship with Epstein, left the British royal family facing one of its worst crises in 90 years.

Mountbatten-Windsor applied for the search warrants to be quashed and Thames Valley Police said it accepted that they had not been properly granted.

"We accept the position that the initial court's decision to issue warrants under the specific piece of legislation used was incorrect and therefore these must be legally quashed," a Thames Valley Police spokesperson said.

"Legal proceedings are currently ongoing to decide how material seized during the searches will be managed and whether we can lawfully retain it in support of our ongoing investigation."

It said its criminal investigation which began after the release of millions of documents by the US Department of Justice relating to Epstein was still ongoing. — Reuters