Files related to former prince Andrew’s trade envoy appointment to be released

Ministers have agreed to release files related to the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to the trade envoy role, as the former prince was described as “a rude, arrogant and entitled man”.

However, MPs were told the Government is unable to publish material that police need for their inquiries until officers are “satisfied”.

The former Duke of York faces accusations of sharing sensitive information with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while acting as a special representative for trade and investment between 2001 and 2011.

He was taken into custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office last week, before being released under investigation.

This came days before Lord Peter Mandelson was also arrested following similar allegations of passing sensitive information to Epstein, during his time as business secretary.

The former Labour minister was released on bail in the early hours of Tuesday, after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

In the Commons, trade minister Sir Chris Bryant described Andrew as “a man on a constant self-aggrandising and self-enriching hustle” and “a rude, arrogant and entitled man who could not distinguish between the public interest, which he said he served, and his own private interest”.

Sir Chris backed Liberal Democrat-led calls to publish the papers on Andrew’s role, including any vetting and any correspondence from Lord Mandelson.

The party used a humble address, the same arcane mechanism the Tories used to press for the release of files on Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, to pressure the Government.

Speaking at the despatch box on Tuesday, Sir Chris said: “Let me be clear from the outset, we support this motion today.

“Frankly, it is the least we owe the victims of the horrific abuse that was perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein and others, the abuse that was enabled, aided and abetted by a very extensive group of arrogant, entitled and often very wealthy individuals in this country and elsewhere.

“It’s not just the people who participated in the abuse.

“It’s the many, many more who turned a blind eye out of greed, familiarity or deference.”

He later added: “As the police have rightly said, it is absolutely crucial that the integrity of their investigation is protected, and now these proceedings are under way, it would be wrong of me to say anything that might prejudice them, nor will the Government be able to put into the public domain anything that is required by the police for them to conduct their inquiries, unless and until the police are satisfied.”

Sir Chris said he wants to “manage people’s expectations” about how quickly the papers on Andrew can be released, due to the age and quantity of the material, and the live police investigation.

He said: “It’s worth bearing in mind that the documents that might be envisaged in this are mostly 25-years-old. Some of them are a bit earlier. They may be substantial in number and many of them will be in hard copy.”

The minister later added: “I am slightly trying to manage people’s expectations about timeliness, partly because of the quantity of material, and because there is a live police investigation, and I just don’t want to jeopardise that.”

Despite being stripped of his title last year, the former duke of York is still eighth in line to the throne, and an Act of Parliament would be required to remove Andrew and prevent him from ever becoming king.

The UK Government has not ruled out introducing such legislation once police have finished their investigation into the King’s disgraced brother.

Opening the debate, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Can there be many people more symbolic of the rot that eats away at the British establishment than the former duke of York and special trade envoy, and the former business secretary, first secretary of state and ambassador to the United States?

“Their association with Epstein and their actions on his behalf, while trusted with the privilege of public office, are a stain on our country.

“We must begin to clean away that stain with the disinfectant of transparency.”

Alex Burghart, the Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister, said his party welcomed the motion, but criticised the Government for not disclosing the information without the need for a humble address.

“What would have been better is if the Government had been proactive on this and had not had to be brought to the House by opposition parties in order to release this information,” he said.

Meanwhile the Commons Business and Trade Committee said it would begin gathering information ahead of a potential inquiry into the trade envoy system, but a final decision would not be taken until after any case against Andrew had concluded.

The first release of files relating to Lord Mandelson is expected in early March, with the due diligence report compiled during the process of appointing him as ambassador to the US expected to be included in the release.

But other documents will be held back while the police continue their inquiries.

Lord Mandelson was arrested on Monday and in a statement issued just after 2am on Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police said: “A 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office has been released on bail pending further investigation.”

As part of the so-called Epstein files, emails from 2009 appear to show Lord Mandelson pass on an assessment by Gordon Brown’s adviser of potential policy measures including an “asset sales plan”.

He also appeared to discuss a tax on bankers’ bonuses and confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.

The emails appeared to be sent to Epstein after he became a convicted sex offender.

It is understood the Crown Prosecution Service is yet to offer any early investigative advice in relation to the allegations against Lord Mandelson.