The Mountbatten-Windsor Fiasco: Who Messed Up the Warrants? Plus How Labour is Doing, and an Uncertain Future For Man City

Last week’s ruling quashing the search warrants executed on 19th February 2026 at the homes of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at Sandringham and Royal Lodge in the context of the investigation into alleged offences of misconduct in public office was a major embarrassment for Thames Valley Police. The police accepted that the warrants had been unlawfully issued but who was to blame for the fact that the wrong section of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 was relied on? Thames Valley police claim that “the court was presented with all the necessary information and paperwork”, giving the impression that the error lay with the Judge who issued the warrants at the Old Bailey but the public reasons given by Mr Justice Hilliard (who was not the issuing Judge) did not seek to allocate blame.  And despite the admitted illegality, does the law permit the police to retain the seized material if it is relevant to their continuing investigation?

To discuss this sorry saga, Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC are joined on Double Jeopardy for expert legal commentary by regular guest, former BBC home affairs journalist and crime/policing expert, Danny Shaw.

The trio go on to discuss what, if any, progress is being made to advance Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s bold plans for radical reform of policing as announced last January.  With a review by former Met Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe due to be published in the next few weeks, is there really a prospect of cutting the current model of 43 separate police forces in England and Wales down to 12-15 mega-force areas?  And what about the creation of an FBI-style nationwide police force combining the National Crime Agency, Counter-Terrorism policing and regional organised crime squads under the leadership of a single national Police Commissioner?

Ken and Tim then press Danny (an adviser to the then Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in the lead up to the 2024 election) on how Labour’s crime and policing manifesto commitments are shaping up as we approach the halfway stage of the current term of office.

Finally, as lifelong Arsenal supporters, Ken, Tim and Danny reflect on the damage done to the reputation of the Premier League by the findings of guilt against Manchester City on 115 charges with the legal battle destined to last for many more months, if not years.

--

Covering the critical intersections of politics and law in the UK with expert commentary on high-profile legal cases, political