UK govt urged to release documents of ex-prince Andrew

LONDON: The UK government faced calls to release documents on ex-prince Andrew's past role as a trade envoy, just hours after a veteran politician was quizzed by police in a widening scandal. The Liberal Democrats said they would table a motion in parliament to force the government to release vetting documents on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's appointment as trade envoy, a post he held from 2001 to 2011. The former prince was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
'The public is rightly demanding to know how Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was appointed to represent our nation in a high-level trade role,' Liberal leader Ed Davey said. 'No one, regardless of their title or their friends, should be beyond the scrutiny of parliament.'
The government is set to release in March a first set of documents relating to the appointment of former government minister Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador in Washington. Mandelson, a key figure in British politics for decades and Britain's envoy to Washington till September, was arrested on Monday in a separate misconduct in public office probe.
Mandelson's appointment has already triggered a political storm with two of Starmer's top aides resigning over the row. The release of documents related to the former politician and the former prince could prove a further headache to the government and the Labour party that oversaw both appointments. — AFP