THE MISSING ANDREW FILE

THE UK's Cabinet Office is accused of covering up for the British royal family after it emerged official papers relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have been withheld from the country’s National Archives.

- BY GAVIN CORDON

An annual release of government papers to the UK's records HQ under the 20-year rule includes a No10 file from 2004 and 2005 on royal visits.

The version originally made available to journalists under embargo, so they could prepare stories, included minutes of a meeting where officials discussed the travel plans of various royals — including the former prince.

However the minutes were subsequently redacted from the file before it was made available to the public. The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for transferring the files to the National Archives, blamed an “administrative error” saying they were not intended for release. A spokesman said: “All records are managed in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act.