Lawmakers approved a motion Tuesday demanding publication of the documents, after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on charges related to allegations that he shared government reports with Jeffrey Epstein while he was trade envoy.
The British government will release confidential papers related to the former Prince Andrew’s appointment as trade envoy after pressure from lawmakers in a scathing parliamentary debate.
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During Tuesday's debate, lawmakers called for greater accountability from the royal family and said the king’s brother had put his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein ahead of his duty to the country.
A motion was approved demanding publication of the documents, after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on charges related to allegations that he shared government reports with Epstein while he was trade envoy. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government backed the motion, assuring its passage.
“Frankly, it is the least we owe the victims of the horrific abuse that was perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein and others, the abuse that was enabled, aided and abetted by a very extensive group of arrogant, entitled and often wealthy individuals in this country and elsewhere,” Trade Minister Chris Bryant said for the government.
'Rude, arrogant and entitled'
Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles last year, is being probed by police over allegations that he shared sensitive documents with Epstein during his time as envoy.
The former prince was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and his brother King Charles III has said the "law must take its course".
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Andrew's association with Epstein, and that of Mandelson, who was bailed in the early hours of Tuesday, were a "stain on our country".
"We must begin to clean away that stain with the disinfectant of transparency," he said.
The Liberal Democrats had deployed a little-used parliamentary mechanism intended to force ministers to disclose files, which stem from when Tony Blair was Labour prime minister 26 years ago.
Bryant described Mountbatten-Windsor as being engaged in a constant "self-enriching hustle'' — a "rude, arrogant and entitled man who could not distinguish between the public interest, which he said he served, and his own private interest.''
While the government agreed to release the files, Bryant said the publication of some documents may be delayed until police finish their investigation.
The push for the files on Andrew comes as the government prepares to release in early March a first set of documents relating to the 2024 appointment of Mandelson as UK ambassador in Washington.