Cabinet Office accused of cover-up after release of official papers referring to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor blocked
The Cabinet Office has been accused of a royal family cover-up after it was revealed official documents referring to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had been withheld from the National Archives.
The annual release of government documents under the 20-year rule at the archives at Kew, south-west London, includes file 10 relating to royal visits from 2004 and 2005.
The version initially made available to embargoed journalists so they could prepare news in advance included minutes of a meeting in which officials discussed the travel plans of various royals, including the then-Duke of York.
However, the minutes were later removed from the file before being made public.
The annual submission of government documents to the archives also revealed:
- MI5 blocks Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern’s call for Britain to share intelligence on any terrorist threat to the Sellafield nuclear site
- Peter Mandelson warns Tony Blair not to let Gordon Brown supporters ruin Labour’s 2005 general election campaign from within
- Under Mr Blair’s chairmanship, plans were drawn up for a major redevelopment of Downing Street; Plans were made to include an underground “safe haven” area in case of a terrorist attack.
- Downing Street has refused to publish details of the meeting between Mr Blair and French President Jacques Chirac following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in Paris
- No 10 has been forced to issue a vile apology after Prime Minister John Major’s birthday telegram to the Queen Mother was handled “inappropriately”
The Cabinet Office, which was responsible for transferring the files to the National Archives, described it as an “administrative error” as the files were never intended to be released.
A spokesman said: “All records are managed in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act. Any release is subject to a thorough review process, including the involvement of specialist stakeholders.”
But Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, said there was no justification for withholding the documents, particularly as Andrew has been stripped of his royal status amid ongoing controversy over his links to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“There should be no royal immunity whatsoever. But that exemption certainly does not apply to Andrew, who is no longer a royal,” Mr Smith said.
“The most likely reason for this attempt to stop the release is pressure from the palace. The royal family has tried to keep everything secret when it comes to Andrew, not to protect him but to protect themselves.”
“The royal family is one of the most secretive institutions in the United Kingdom. These documents must be released without fear or favor to enable the public to make informed decisions about the royal family.”
Meanwhile, York Central Labor MP Rachael Maskell called on the government to clarify why the files were not released.
he said Independent: “If this is the case, the government must explain why the documents were withheld. All the public wants is transparency, if there are issues that could highlight the risk to others, then this information needs to be clearly reported to the relevant authority.
“Many questions are being asked following the release of the Epstein documents, in which we know that young women were trafficked. I am not making an allegation, just calling for clarity.”
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was formally stripped of his last remaining royal titles earlier this month following controversy over his links to Epstein, with King Charles ordering the removal of his membership of the Order of the Garter to which he was appointed in 2006.
This comes a month after the 65-year-old was stripped of both his HRH title and the title of prince.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s role in the family ended amid growing concerns about his relationship with Epstein. After announcing that he would lose all his royal titles, the palace also announced that he would leave his home in the Royal Lodge.
The minutes seen by journalists, including the Press Association, before being removed from the file appear to be without exception.
There are discussions among senior palace and Foreign Office officials about his travel plans for visits to China, Russia, Southeast Asia and Spain as UK trade envoy, which has earned him the nickname “air miles Andy”.
Officials also raised the issue of whether the Football Association would be prepared to pay him to attend the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal as a royal representative.
It was noted that a change to royal travel rules meant his visits as a trade envoy would in future be funded by the Royal Travel Office rather than UK Trade and Industry, meaning he would have to come up with an additional £90,000.
Elsewhere, minutes show that an offer from Prince William (now the Prince of Wales) to visit China was rejected on the grounds that he should not undertake official duties until he was at least 25 years old.
The withholding of the minutes underlines that files relating to the royal family are routinely prevented from being published under the Public Records Act.
