Formal security vetting and due diligence appear not to have been carried out before the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy, the government has said, as it emerged that the late queen was “very keen” for her son to take a prominent role in promoting Britain’s interests.
The first batch of documents relating to the appointment of the then prince as trade envoy by Tony Blair in 2001 includes a memo dated 25 February 2000 and addressed to Robin Cook, the then foreign secretary, in which the then chief executive of British Trade International (BTI), David Wright, said Queen Elizabeth II’s “wish” had been for Mountbatten-Windsor to take on the role.
