Biographer says government departments give contradictory refusals to requests and accuses them of ‘cover up’

Researchers have called for greater transparency from the Foreign Office over the files it holds on the Duke of York. Officials responding to freedom of information requests have given a variety of reasons why the files cannot be released.

Andrew Lownie, an author who is researching a biography of Prince Andrew, was told that the files could not be made public until 2065, and implied there was a general rule that papers relating to members of the royal family must remain closed until 105 years after their birth.