The Government has admitted that memos, emails and cables sent between officials about the Duke of York's foreign visits when he was a roving trade ambassador 'may no longer be retained'.
Under a so-called 'retention policy', the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) send documents of 'historical importance' to the National Archives in Kew, south-west London, or destroy them.
Last night, former diplomat Simon Wilson, who was involved with a number of Andrew's trade envoy visits while at the British embassy in Bahrain in the early 2000s, said: 'The Duke of York was directly employed by the Government and details of his visits should be in the public domain.'