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LONDON, Oct 8: British police on Thursday said that search warrants they secured to search properties linked \u200cto Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had been issued unlawfully and must be quashed, but said the investigation into King Charles\u2019 younger brother was ongoing.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in February, linked to his relationship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and searches were carried out at \u200bproperties in Sandringham, eastern England, and Windsor.<\/p>\n The arrest of the senior royal, eighth in line to the throne, was unprecedented \u200bin modern times and a Reuters photo of the ashen-faced former prince leaving the police station made front \u2060pages around the world.<\/p>\n However, subsequently Mountbatten-Windsor, who has not made any public comment since his arrest, launched \u200ba legal challenge and applied for the search warrants to be quashed.<\/p>\n Thames Valley Police said it now agreed these had not been \u200bproperly granted by the courts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe accept the position that the initial court\u2019s decision to issue warrants under the specific piece of legislation used was incorrect and therefore these must be legally quashed,\u201d a Thames Valley Police spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cLegal proceedings are currently ongoing to decide how material seized during the searches will \u200bbe managed and whether we can lawfully retain it in support of our ongoing investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n At a hearing at London\u2019s High Court on Thursday, \u200bJudge Nicholas Hilliard said the force was applying to keep the seized property, which Mountbatten-Windsor was opposing, and the issue would not be settled \u200cuntil next \u2060year.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said it had not returned any material to the royal other than that which was not deemed to be connected to their investigation.<\/p>\n While the quashing of the warrants is an embarrassment, it does not stop the police investigation which began after the release of millions of documents by the US Department of Justice relating to Epstein.<\/p>\n Mountbatten-Windsor, the second son \u200bof the late Queen Elizabeth, \u200bhas always denied any wrongdoing \u2060in relation to Epstein, and said he regrets their friendship.<\/p>\n The offence of misconduct in public office, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, can relate to any serious wrongdoing \u2014 from sharing confidential \u200binformation to corruption and sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n Police have said their investigation, which relates to Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s time as \u200ba British special \u2060representative for trade, between 2001 and 2011, would be lengthy and incredibly complex.<\/p>\n He was forced to quit all official royal duties in 2019 over his ties with Epstein, and was then stripped of his titles and honours by his older brother last October after further revelations about their \u2060relationship.<\/p>\n Epstein was \u200bfound dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 in what was \u200bruled a suicide.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a Buckingham Palace source has said the former prince had been told that money provided from private funds by his brother the king should \u200bnot be used to fund his legal challenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nPOLICE ACCEPT WARRANTS NOT LAWFUL<\/strong><\/h3>\n
INVESTIGATION REMAINS ONGOING<\/strong><\/h3>\n