UK lawmakers approve release of confidential documents related to former Prince Andrew

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s House of Commons on Tuesday approved the release of papers related to former Prince Andrew’s appointment as a trade envoy, a position he held for about a decade during which he is suspected of improperly passing government information to disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The approval came in a voice vote. It was unclear when the release could occur, as the former prince was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The government has made clear it does not want to interfere in the inquiry.

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Ed Davey, the leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats and the lawmaker who introduced the motion, argued that it was time for transparency. “In many ways, this is the first truly global scandal from the White House and Silicon Valley to Oslo and Paris, but it’s also a deeply British scandal reaching right to the top of the British Establishment,’’ Davey said in opening the debate.

King Charles III’s younger brother, who was stripped of his princely title last year due to revelations about his relationship with Epstein, was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office amid allegations that he shared confidential documents with Epstein during his time as trade envoy.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known, was released without charge and the investigation continues.

The debate in Britain’s Parliament came as the U.S. Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of documents related to Epstein exposes how the wealthy financier used an international web of rich, powerful friends to gain influence and sexually exploit young women.

Nowhere has the fallout been felt more strongly than in the U.K., where the scandal has raised questions about the way power is wielded by the aristocracy, senior politicians and influential businessmen, known collectively as “the Establishment.”