According to revelations by the Daily Mail, the police informed the Home Office ahead of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest. This strategic move was communicated by a senior officer from Thames Valley Police, who reached out to the office of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood earlier this morning. The notification came just before plain-clothes officers descended on Wood Farm within the Sandringham Estate at 8 a.m.
The engagement involved a phone call between a police representative and a member of Ms. Mahmood’s political team, located at her private office in the Home Office’s headquarters on Marsham Street in Westminster.
Typically, there is no established protocol requiring police to alert the Government about impending high-profile arrests. Such actions are not mandated by any formal procedures.
In fact, both senior police officials and politicians frequently emphasize the operational independence of police forces from the Home Office and other governmental bodies.
Nevertheless, due to the potentially explosive nature of arresting Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, it was deemed ‘good practice’ by Thames Valley Police to inform the Home Secretary, as sources have indicated.
However, the incendiary nature of plan to arrest Mr Mountbatten-Windsor led Thames Valley to conclude it would be ‘good practice’ to tip-off the Home Secretary, sources said.
With Andrew’s current location being kept secret, multiple sources have confirmed that King Charles and Buckingham Palace was not warned in advance that his younger brother was to be arrested by officers from Thames Valley Police.
The King’s brother is the first senior member of the Royal Family to be arrested in modern times.
Police have been assessing claims against Mr Mountbatten-Windsor that emerged in the Epstein files.
These include allegations that while working as a trade envoy for the UK Government he shared sensitive information with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
A group of police officers in plain clothes arrive this morning at Wood Farm, on Norfolk’s Sandringham Estate, where searches began
Vans approach the Royal Lodge, a property on the estate surrounding Windsor Castle and a former residence of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, earlier on Thursday
British police officers are now likely to have had access to uncensored copies of the Epstein documents which were published in redacted form by the United States Department of Justice just under three weeks ago.
It had already emerged that police had held informal discussions with the UK government about emails and documents relating to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein.
Officers were reported to be keen to study the types of confidential and sensitive information Mr Mountbatten-Windsor had access to while serving as an envoy.
Detectives have detained Mr Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence which carries a sentence of up to life imprisonment.
The decision to arrest Mr Mountbatten-Windsor at his home – on his 66th birthday – can be seen as an indication of police’s level of confidence in evidence uncovered in the investigation so far.
They almost certainly will have asked Crown Prosecution Service lawyers for their opinion before making the arrest, and this morning’s unprecedented activity at Sandringham suggests they believe they have an arguable case.
If detectives had been less confident in the evidence they have obtained they may have taken a less conspicuous course of action.
For example, they could have made an appointment with Mr Mountbatten-Windsor – via his lawyer – to attend a police station for interview.
That interview could have been informal or conducted under caution, and arrangements could have been made for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to enter and leave the police station discreetly.
Thames Valley Police have not taken this route and their decision to arrest the former duke at his home will be interpreted as a confident, perhaps even an aggressive, policing tactic.
The decision to arrest him rather than conduct an interview by appointment also means investigating officers have the opportunity to search Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s home and seize evidence.
Police officers at the entrance to the Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate
They will be seeking computers and other electronic devices, as well as written paperwork such as bills, receipts and bank records.
Officers have been seen at Wood Farm, Norfolk, and at Royal Lodge, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home near Windsor.
It remains to be seen how long Mr Mountbatten-Windsor will remain in police custody.
The maximum period is 24 hours, except in investigations of serious crimes such as murder or terrorism.
Suspects can be released under different mechanisms.
‘Release under investigation’ means they are free to go pending further inquiries with no conditions imposed.
Alternatively, police can grant two types of bail.
‘Unconditional bail’ can be set with a specific date and time on which the suspect must surrender to custody, while ‘conditional bail’ can add extra requirements such as living at a specific address or regularly reporting to a police station.
Guidance sets out that ‘conditions should not be unreasonable, overly restrictive nor punitive’.
