LONDON (AP) — A London judge will hold a hearing Thursday in former Prince Andrew’s challenge to searches at his residences by police investigating his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Justice Nicholas Hilliard will hear a request from the department that carried out the searches to restrict access to court documents in the case. The hearing will begin behind closed doors, with any decision announced in open court.
Thames Valley Police officers arrested the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, on Feb. 19, on suspicion of misconduct in public office and searched two of his homes. His lawyers are now asking the High Court to quash the warrants under which those searches were conducted.
If the court rules in Mountbatten-Windsor’s favor, it could prevent authorities from using evidence discovered during the searches in any prosecution of the former prince, attorney Mark Stephens said.
Stephens, of the Howard Kennedy firm in London, described the hearing as a preliminary skirmish in the broader legal battle.
“It’s the first step of Prince Andrew and his lawyers saying, ‘Actually, this is tainted evidence. It was obtained inappropriately,’’’ Stephens said. “Therefore it should be excluded from any criminal trial.”
King Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his princely title last year as he sought to shield the rest of the royal family from the continuing fallout from his younger brother’s links to Epstein.
While Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, continues to receive a stipend from the king’s private funds, Buckingham Palace has made it clear that those funds may not be used to fund his effort to challenge the search warrants.
The police investigation initially focused on allegations that Mountbatten-Windsor shared sensitive information with Epstein when the former prince was a U.K. trade envoy, but police later said they could also consider other matters.
Police questioned Mountbatten-Windsor for 11 hours before releasing him under investigation, meaning he was neither charged nor exonerated.
It was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal was placed under arrest, underscoring how deference to the monarchy has eroded in recent years.
Thames Valley Police said Monday that its investigation was continuing and confirmed that the department was involved in legal proceedings about the search warrants. A department spokesperson declined further comment while those proceedings are underway.
The allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor came to light when the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of documents from its investigation into sex trafficking by Epstein and his connections to a network of wealthy, powerful men around the world.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s ties to Epstein have been a source of embarrassment to the royal family for more than a decade.
Lawmakers questioned the relationship as far back as 2011, when the then-prince was forced to give up his globetrotting role as the U.K.’s special trade envoy. Eight years later, he failed to explain his continuing ties to Epstein in a disastrous interview with the BBC, ending his career as a working member of the royal family.
FILE - Britain's Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said on Thursday that the British Consulate in east Jerusalem has “ceased to function” in that capacity and that 20 staffers will leave the country, the latest move in the biggest diplomatic rift between the close allies in decades.
The sign outside the consulate was taken down, but Britain said the building remains open and a core staff will continue to deliver “vital services” and work with Palestinians. The U.K. government said would not retaliate by expelling Israeli diplomats as it seeks to rebuild its staff.
The dispute began last month when the United Kingdom banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The United Nations and much of the international community consider all settlements as illegal.
“Israel will no longer turn its cheek to diplomatic attacks against it," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement, adding that the building would continue to operate with a “task force” of seven diplomats and a “very limited” scope of activity. Twenty British diplomats will leave Israel, including the consul general.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement that the building "will be known as the U.K. Mission, Jerusalem” after discussions with Israel’s government, and a small team of diplomats would continue to operate there.
“This will ensure that we maintain our longstanding British presence and the U.K.’s role in support of a two-state solution,” Miliband added.
Britain had threatened to expel Israeli diplomats if the consulate was closed, but said it would not do so for now because it's in talks with Israel about expanding the mission.
“We will work in the coming months to build back up our presence,” Miliband said.
Meanwhile, “our diplomats are going to be able to carry out their important work in relation to, for example, relations with the Palestinians, but also supporting British nationals visiting the area,” Middle East Minister Stephen Doughty told Times Radio.
Miliband made clear that Britain does “not accept that the government of Israel has the legal right to close the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, which has been there for nearly 200 years.”
The foreign secretary added that the U.K. government reiterates its view that east Jerusalem "is occupied territory."
The U.K. and Israel continue to have close defense and security cooperation, but diplomatic relations have deteriorated over Israel’s conduct of the war with the Hamas militant group in Gaza and Britain’s decision last year to recognize a Palestinian state.
Last month’s announcement of a ban on trade Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank marked a significant toughening of Britain’s stance toward a longtime ally.
Doughty, the Middle East minister, said the U.K. has “a strong and ongoing relationship with Israel.”
Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for a future state.
Since then, the Israeli government has built scores of settlements that are home to well over 500,000 Jewish settlers. Many settlements resemble fully developed suburbs.
The current government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the most nationalist and religious in Israel’s history, views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and sees the settlements as key to maintaining security.
Lawless reported from London.
A car enters the British Consulate after the sign outside the consulate was taken down, in east Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Barricades block the main road leading to British Consulate after the sign outside the consulate was taken down, in east Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Main entrance to the British Consulate is seen after the sign outside the consulate was taken down, in east Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Barricades block the main road leading to British Consulate after the sign outside the consulate was taken down, in east Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
