Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor latest: Police search of Royal Lodge enters second day after Andrew released from custody

Political reporter Athena Stavrou reports:

Ed Davey has said parliament should ensure the monarchy is more transparent going forward in order to avoid a future crisis.

Asked if parliament should take action following Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, the Liberal Democrat leader said: “I think it’s very important the police allowed to do their work…separate from parliament.

“I think more broadly going forward, we do need to see more transparency, and parliament has a really important role to play.

“I think we need to help the monarchy get over this, it’s really important part of our of our country. And the way that that we will go forward, is having more transparency over how they operate.”

A former police chief has given some insight into how Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor may have been treated on Thursday following his arrest.

Andy Trotter, former deputy chief constable at British Transport Police, said Thames Valley Police would have been “absolutely clear” that he will be treated the same as anybody else.

“No better, no worse than anyone else,” he told Sky News.

“He would come through the exact same procedure as search, photographs, DNA, fingerprints, etc and obviously [offered a] lawyer, if they wanted to, to attend for any interview that might follow.

“I think the more unusual the case, the more what you’ve got to stick to the regular procedures so that there’s no difference from the way this person has been treated from any other.”

The Times reports that officials in Whitehall could look through government records for documents related to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s time as a trade envoy as part of the ongoing police investigation.

Sources told The Times that Whitehall would “fully cooperate” with detectives investigating.

Detectives will continue their searches of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home in Berkshire following his release from custody after he was arrested on suspicion of alleged misconduct in public office.

He was held on Thursday morning following allegations made against him after the release of files related to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew, the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested, was held in custody for around 11 hours before being released under investigation by Thames Valley Police.

Thames Valley Police said searches at a property in Norfolk – Andrew’s home on the Sandringham Estate – have now concluded.But the force said that the operation they were carrying out at a Berkshire address, his former residence, Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, will continue.

The King is calculating that however bad the details might be, placing the former prince in the category of outcast will insulate him and his heirs from the fallout and allow the succession to continue, writes Anne McElvoy:

US president Donald Trump has weighed in on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, hours after the King’s brother was detained under suspicion of alleged misconduct in public office.

“I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad. I think it’s so bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad. To me, it’s a very sad thing,” Mr Trump said.

Andrew, who used to be known as “Prince” before having his royal titles stripped, was arrested after police launched an investigation into claims that he allegedly shared sensitive information while on official visits as the UK as the country’s trade envoy with Jeffrey Epstein.

The claims emerged as part of the Epstein file’s that were recently released by Trump’s Department of Justice.