Sir Michael Ellis has told GB News prosecuting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for misconduct in a public office “is going to be a real test of this offence”.
Speaking to host Martin Daubney, the ex-Attorney General described the offence as “actually a very complicated” one, noting it contains at least five separate elements that prosecutors must establish beyond doubt.
He explained: “There are lots of questions that are going to have to be answered here. If the police go on to charge Andrew, they have not charged him, they’ve only arrested him, but after charging, it would have to go to a trial. And then if that happens, then a jury would have to be asked to convict.
“One of the things that lawyers have to look at in any of these types of cases of misconduct in a public office, it’s actually a very complicated offence. It has at least five elements, all five of which have to be proved.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has left Aylsham Police Station on the same day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The former royal was pictured reclining in the back seat of a car after a 12-hour day of questioning in police custody.
Thames Valley Police told GB News: “Thames Valley Police is able to provide an update in relation to an investigation into the offence of misconduct in public office.
“On Thursday (19/2) we arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The arrested man has now been released under investigation. We can also confirm that our searches in Norfolk have now concluded.”
Sir Michael Ellis told GB News of the complexities of the offence Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is under investigation for
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GB NEWS
Sir Michael explained the prosecution must first satisfy the court that the defendant occupies a public office, noting that legal definitions govern this determination.
“The most common use of this particular offence is police officers who misuse their Police National Computer to look up ex-girlfriends and things of that sort,” he said.
He added: “They’re often charged with misconduct in a public office, but the courts have held over the years that certain offices do not amount to a public office. There was one case, for example, where an ambulance paramedic was not held to be holding a public office.
“This is the first time a member of the Royal Family has been arrested in 350 years, but they’re going to have to ask themselves, was he acting as a member of the Royal Family during this trade position, or was he in a public office?”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor pictured in back of car as former royal released from police station | REUTERSHe described this question as “a live one” that courts would need to examine thoroughly before any jury could consider the evidence.
He told GB News: “And the question there is a live one, and that’s going to have to be explored by the courts before it even gets to a jury, assuming they go ahead and charge him.
“A defence lawyer would say, if he’s not guilty of the offence, he’s not guilty. If the elements of the offence are not met, then a person would not be guilty. But to be guilty, for anyone to be guilty of this offence, they have to, first of all, be in a public office.
“They, second of all, have to have done something wrong whilst acting as that public office holder, not in some other capacity. Thirdly, they have to have wilfully, either neglected to do something or deliberately done something to misconduct themselves.”
Sir Michael Ellis told GB News the offence is a ‘difficult one’
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GB NEWS
Sir Michael continued: “They have to, fourthly, have had to do it to such a degree that public trust would have been damaged. And fifthly, they must have had no lawful excuse or reason for doing it. So all five of those elements must be reached. I don’t think it’s a fait accompli at all. I think this is going to be a real test of this offence. The offence is a difficult one.
“It’s been around for over 200 years. Parliament didn’t create this offence. The judges created it by sort of amorphously adding to it over the course of more than 200 years, so it is going to be a challenge here.”
Andrew has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing amid the ongoing allegations.
The former senior royal was relocated to the remote Norfolk property following his departure from his previous Windsor residence amid reports about his relationship with the late convicted peadophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Appearing in the Epstein files is not evidence of any wrongdoing and Inclusion in the documents does not implicate anyone in Epstein’s criminality.
GB News has contacted Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for comment.
