Andrew is arrested in bombshell raids on Windsor and Sandringham homes: Live updates

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on his 66th birthday today and is in police custody after a raid on his new Sandringham home.

Thames Valley Police held the eighth in line to the British throne on suspicion of misconduct in public office this morning.

The Daily Mail was the first to reveal plain-clothes police, carried in six unmarked vehicles, had arrived at Wood Farm, Andrew’s new Sandringham home, at 8am this morning.

A convoy including at least two royal Land Rovers linked to Andrew was photographed leaving the estate less than an hour later. His arrest was confirmed at 10.08am.

For the past ten days detectives have been probing his conduct as a trade envoy for the UK after emails in the Epstein Files suggested he shared confidential information with his paedophile friend including reports of his official visits and potential investment opportunities.

A Thames Valley spokesman said today: ‘We have today arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office’.

Onlookers said a group of eight people were in plain clothes ‘but appeared to be police officers’ when several unmarked cars arrived in Sandringham just after 8am.

One man appeared to be carrying a police-issue laptop.

Andrew is staying at Sandringham after being evicted by his older brother from Royal Lodge in Windsor following the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Police popped up at Sandringham as Sir Keir Starmer claimed ‘nobody is above the law’ in the UK and nine UK police forces assess whether to launch investigations into Epstein-related allegations including human trafficking and sexual assault.

Andrew is yet to be spoken to by detectives are assessing a range of allegations related to sex trafficking and misconduct in public office and sex trafficking. But his brother King Charles said he stands ready to help the police with their inquiries.

The Queen’s second son may have passed sensitive information to Epstein in his role as a UK trade envoy. There are also claims he may have smuggled a woman into Buckingham Palace who may have been trafficked into Britain on Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ jet.

Andrew denies any wrongdoing.

Princess Anne was convicted of a criminal offence in 2002

While Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office is unprecedented, it is not the first time that the royals have faced the possibility of appearing in court.

In 2002, Princess Anne became the first Royal Family member to be convicted of a criminal offence when she was fined £500 after one of her dogs bit two children.

Anne also became the family’s first member to have a criminal record after admitting a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act over the incident in Windsor.

She also had several convictions for speeding, all dealt with without the embarrassment of a court appearance – in 1972, 1977, 1990 and 2000.

Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall was also banned from driving for six months in 2020 for doing 91mph in a 70mph zone.

Andrew’s arrest comes days after Buckingham Palace said it would “stand ready to support” the police if approached over the claims made against him.

A spokesman for the Palace added that the King had made clear his “profound concern” over Andrew’s alleged conduct.

The King’s brother is effectively no longer a royal, becoming a commoner after he was stripped by the monarch of both his right to be a prince and his dukedom late last year over his association with Epstein.

Charles was heckled by members of public in Essex and Lancashire earlier this month amid the fallout from Andrew’s links to Epstein.

Watch the video below:

According to the Crown Prosecution Sevice, misconduct in public office is a common law offence that can be tried only on indictment – meaning it must be heard by a judge in crown court.

If found guilty, Andrew faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Those who ae found to commit misconduct in public office are accused of serious wilful, which means ‘deliberately doing something which is wrong, knowing it to be wrong or with reckless indifference as to whether it is wrong or not’ abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held.

The following have been held as public officers:

• Holders of judicial and quasi-judicial office; Judges, magistrates, registrars and coroners
• Police constables
• Police community support officers
• Immigration officers
• Elected officials; MPs, councillors, ministers or mayors
• Civil servants
• Prison staff
• Army officers
• Church of England bishops

Detectives investigating whether Andrew may committed misconduct in public office will no doubt examine his time as UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.

In his role, Andrew travelled the world and enjoyed priviliged access to senior government and business contacts.

But emails disclosed in the latest Epstein files release have led to claims he may have shared sensitive information with the paedophile financier.

Emails released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show the former duke sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.

One email, dated November 2010, appeared to be forwarded by Andrew five minutes after being sent by his then-special adviser Amir Patel.

Another, on Christmas Eve 2010, appeared to send Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the eighth in line to the throne, is the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested.

Here’s everything you need to know about what will happen next:

• Having been taken into police custody – although there is no mention of where he is – the former Duke of York will no doubt be questioned by officers today
• Before and during any interview, he will be able to seek legal advice and have a lawyer present
• He can be held by police for up to 24 hours without charge, although police can apply for extensions to this limit up to an absolute maximum of 96 hours
• Anything Andrew does say during interview can be sent to the CPS as part of the force’s case, once investigators have finished gathering evidence
• It is the CPS who will then decide whether the royal will be charged with any offence
• Misconduct in public office is classed as one of the most serious offences in British law, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison
• But Andrew will only face this if he is charged, tried and convicted in a court of law

Questions are mounting over Sarah Ferguson’s future after her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested at Sandringham today.

The former Duchess of York, 66, has been lying low amid growing outrage over her ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and was last seen spending time with friends in the French Alps before moving on to the United Arab Emirates.

She has also been spending time with her youngest daughter, Princess Eugenie, 35, who has been in the region for work, attending an art fair in Doha, Qatar, in her role as a director at dealer Hauser and Wirth.

Fergie has, along with her former husband Andrew, become a pariah in Britain and her future remains a mystery.

Until recently they continued to live together at Royal Lodge, Andrew’s vast Windsor mansion, a staggering three decades after their split, with Fergie once describing them as ‘the happiest divorced couple in the world’.

But her future was plunged into further uncertainty today after Andrew, the eighth in line to the British throne who turns 66 today, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and is being held in custody.

Across the UK, nine police forces have confirmed they are assessing whether to launch investigations into Epstein-related allegations

Here’s a quick rundown of them:

Examining claims that royal protection officers ‘turned a blind eye’ during visits to Epstein’s private island and separate claims Peter Mandelson passed sensitive information

Seeking information regarding an allegation made in Virginia Water in the 1990s

assessing claims that Epstein sent a young woman to the UK for a sexual encounter with Andrew at Royal Lodge in 2010

assessing information which suggests Epstein trafficked sex victims to the UK via Stansted airport

assessing Epstein’s use of London Luton Airport

asking for information about Epstein’s use of Edinburgh Airport

assessing Epstein’s use of Birmingham Airport

reviewing its records and supporting the Met Police in its investigation.

reviewing Epstein files but have not received specific allegations

Watch the Daily Mail’s Andrew Pierce explain whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could become the first royal to go to prison.

It comes following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office as police forces investigate the Epstein files.

See his video below:

Detectives have been probing the former Duke of York’s conduct while he served as a UK trade envoy as emails released in the Epstein files suggested he shared confidential information with his paedophile friend.

Andrew, who celebrates his 66th birthday today, was also pictured in the Epstein files kneeling over a young women.

The royal is also being urged to give evidence to the US congressional investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast today, Sir Keir Starmer said:

Anybody who has any information should testify.

So whether it’s Andrew or anybody else, anybody who has got relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is, in this particular case we’re talking about Epstein, but there are plenty of other cases.

Thames Valley Police previously said the force was reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew, and claims he shared sensitive information with the paedophile while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.

Searches are being carried out at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk, the force said.

Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said:

Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.

It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence.

We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.