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Official documents that could shed light on Prince Andrew’s controversial role as Britain’s trade envoy may have been destroyed.
The Government has admitted that memos, emails and cables sent between officials about the Duke of York’s foreign visits when he was a traveling trade ambassador “can no longer be preserved”.
Under the so-called “retention policy”, the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) sends documents of “historical importance” to the National Archives at Kew, south-west London, or destroys them.
Last night, former diplomat Simon Wilson, who was involved in several visits by Andrew’s trade envoys while he was at the British Embassy in Bahrain in the early 2000s, said: “The Duke of York was employed directly by the Government and the details of your visits should be made public domain.’
Prince Andrew (left) attending a military air show in 2010 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The Government has admitted that memos, emails and cables sent between officials about the Duke of York’s foreign visits when he was a traveling trade ambassador “can no longer be preserved”. The duke was photographed riding a horse earlier this month.
The mystery surrounding his whereabouts comes after The Mail on Sunday previously revealed how Prince Andrew exploited his role to boost the business interests of his close friend, billionaire financier David Rowland.
Royal biographer Andrew Lownie has used the Freedom of Information Act to request documents from 2001 about the people who accompanied the duke on his business trips, his work schedule and any correspondence between officials and the duke’s private office.
But the DBT, successor to the body which, along with the Foreign Office, oversaw Andrew’s visits, said it did not have the information.
The Information Commissioner’s Office, which investigated how officials responded to Dr Lownie’s request, said that even if such information existed previously “it may no longer be retained”.
Prince Andrew speaking with his Chinese guide in Beijing in 2004, on a six-day trip when he was Britain’s international trade and investment representative.
Dr Lownie said he was unable to find the information at the National Archives and, despite repeated requests from the Mail, the DBT refused to say whether the documents had been destroyed.
Dr Lownie said: “I think there are a lot of questions.” He suggested that failure to answer questions could lead to the appearance of a cover-up.
These documents are typically retained for up to 20 years, before the “records of historical value” are transferred to the National Archives, which defines information of historical value as that which reflects “the ‘what, why and how’ of government.” .
The DBT said: “The department has complied with our obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, and this was confirmed by the Information Commissioner’s Office.”