Overview
- Minutes about Andrew’s 2004–05 travel as a UK trade envoy were shared with journalists under embargo, then removed and redacted before public release.
- Officials said the inclusion was an administrative error and stressed records are handled under the Public Records Act’s review process.
- The withdrawn notes detailed proposed trips and a funding change that shifted about £90,000 for his travel from UK Trade and Industry to the Royal Travel Office.
- Journalists who saw the pages described them as unremarkable, while campaigners and researchers accused officials of secrecy and urged parliamentary scrutiny.
- Redactions in the same file also covered proposed royal visits and a letter on the then Queen’s approval of a Hu Jintao state visit, as debate over royal FOI exemptions intensifies following recent Epstein-related disclosures.