// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Warrants used to search Andrew's homes were unlawful, court says
Mountbatten-Windsor remains under police investigation despite a ruling that the way search warrants were issued was unlawful
Thames Valley Police has accepted warrants it used to search Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's homes at the time of his arrest in February were unlawful, the High Court has heard.
Following Thursday's ruling items seized in the raids will continue to be held by the police until a hearing in 2027, and the criminal investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor is ongoing.
The former prince, who denies any wrongdoing, was arrested by police on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and has since launched a challenge over the legality of the search warrants.
The force said it accepted that the "initial court's decision to issue warrants under the specific piece of legislation used was incorrect" before they searched the properties.
On Thursday at the High Court, Judge Mr Justice Hilliard said that an agreement had been reached between Mountbatten-Windsor and the police that the search warrants had been unlawful.
However, he added: "The fact that the search warrants were quashed does not bring the investigation to an end or mean that the whole of the investigation is unlawful."
Mountbatten-Windsor's lawyers have used a judicial review to challenge the actions of the force's chief constable and the Central Criminal Court in the build-up to his arrest.
His arrest arose after the US Department of Justice published documents which suggested he had forwarded confidential information to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein when Mountbatten-Windsor was a UK trade envoy in 2010.
He has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.