Across London, suspects are being quietly Released Under Investigation (RUI) – a legal limbo that differs from bail because there are no time limits, updates or system to challenge it. At any moment, they can be landed with a potentially life changing charge.
Former ‘Prince’ Andrew and Peter Mandelson’s arrests in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office demonstrated just how messed up the justice system is. Behind smoke and mirrors lies a scandal affecting thousands of ordinary people with no titles, no PR team and no expensive lawyers. For one man from London, this nightmare has lasted three and a half years.
Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, uses his mobile phone in a taxi as he leaves his house in London, Monday, March 2, 2026.
“I can’t plan my life”
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of a serious sexual offence he denies. He spent the first three months on pre-charge bail after the police arrested him at his house in the beginning of 2023 as he was getting ready for his daughter’s school drop off. He was then switched to RUI without warning – and the communication stopped.
“I was waking up thinking about it every day. You live in a heightened sense of anxiety; it becomes your norm.”
He was contacted by the police a year later in 2024, and was asked to upload evidence linked to his case, 139 files including WhatsApp messages and intimate photos.
The Met police lost all the evidence linked to his case, not once, but multiple times under three different police officers. They scheduled two voluntary interviews, but the officer didn’t show the first time and the second time they were called in to court.
“I do look at my case and think this can’t be how police investigations are usually done.”
Police officers guard a gate at Buckingham Palace in London, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested.
In late 2025, he was told by officers they cannot give him a timescale for when the case will conclude. The impact has been devastating. He left his charity job because he feared an enhanced DBS check. He says he’s starting to withdraw from his relationship with his daughter, worrying that a charge could take him away from her. Even relationships with new people have suffered – he feels it is unfair to involve them.
“I can’t really plan my life.” And it’s not only suspects, “If this is awful for me, I can’t imagine what it’s like for victims waiting years for answers.”
What is RUI?
Released Under Investigation was introduced in 2017 to reduce unnecessary bail. When somebody is arrested, they can either be charged within 24 hours, released on pre-charge bail or be RUI.
With RUI there are no conditions, time limits, and police don’t have to give updates. This contrasts with pre-charge bail which has regular three-month reviews, the right to challenge bail after nine months, and a requirement for updates.
“The system has no teeth”, expert warns
The system is failing both suspects and victims. But why is this happening?
Sharron Boyce, a Chartered Legal Executive at Brett Wilson LLP, says police are massively lacking resources to conduct investigations as quickly as they should. Many of her cases are also for severe cases, such as sexual offences.
“Under RUI, the police are not obliged to update anyone. But I am often writing to the police saying my client is really struggling with their anxiety.”
Sharron Boyce, Chartered Legal Executive at Brett Wilson LLP.
Home Office guidance from 2023, tells officers to set an ‘Expected Finish Date’, is routinely ignored in Sharron’s experience. “It has no teeth.”
And for those without money, like Mandelson and Andrew?
“There will be a subcategory of people who have no idea what’s going on because they can’t afford a lawyer to chase it.”
Leveson: Scrap RUI Entirely
In June 2025, Sir Brian Leveson published his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. His conclusion was firm: RUI should be abolished.
He recommended instead that bail should be the only mechanism for releasing suspects. Sharron Boyce supports to the ban of RUI, saying often she says to clients being on bail is a better option because of the conditions and time constraints.
For the London man at the centre of this story, the impact is already there.
“It’s crazy – you adopt this lifestyle that becomes your norm.” He says scrapping RUI needs to be done because it impacts victims, suspects and witnesses alike.
As the nation watches the arrests of Andrew and Mandelson play out, thousands of ordinary people remain trapped in a system with no end in sight.
And for our anonymous suspect?
“I just want to know what’s happening. That’s all.”
Submitted Article
Headline
Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
HeadlineLeft To Rot: The Secret Justice Crisis Behind Andrew & Mandelson’s Arrests
Short HeadlineLeft To Rot: The Secret Justice Crisis
StandfirstOne man from London has waited three and a half years for answers – why thousands ‘released under investigation’ join him.
Across London, suspects are being quietly Released Under Investigation (RUI) – a legal limbo that differs from bail because there are no time limits, updates or system to challenge it. At any moment, they can be landed with a potentially life changing charge.
Former ‘Prince’ Andrew and Peter Mandelson’s arrests in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office demonstrated just how messed up the justice system is. Behind smoke and mirrors lies a scandal affecting thousands of ordinary people with no titles, no PR team and no expensive lawyers. For one man from London, this nightmare has lasted three and a half years.
Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, uses his mobile phone in a taxi as he leaves his house in London, Monday, March 2, 2026.
“I can’t plan my life”
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of a serious sexual offence he denies. He spent the first three months on pre-charge bail after the police arrested him at his house in the beginning of 2023 as he was getting ready for his daughter’s school drop off. He was then switched to RUI without warning – and the communication stopped.
“I was waking up thinking about it every day. You live in a heightened sense of anxiety; it becomes your norm.”
He was contacted by the police a year later in 2024, and was asked to upload evidence linked to his case, 139 files including WhatsApp messages and intimate photos.
The Met police lost all the evidence linked to his case, not once, but multiple times under three different police officers. They scheduled two voluntary interviews, but the officer didn’t show the first time and the second time they were called in to court.
“I do look at my case and think this can’t be how police investigations are usually done.”
Police officers guard a gate at Buckingham Palace in London, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested.
In late 2025, he was told by officers they cannot give him a timescale for when the case will conclude. The impact has been devastating. He left his charity job because he feared an enhanced DBS check. He says he’s starting to withdraw from his relationship with his daughter, worrying that a charge could take him away from her. Even relationships with new people have suffered – he feels it is unfair to involve them.
“I can’t really plan my life.” And it’s not only suspects, “If this is awful for me, I can’t imagine what it’s like for victims waiting years for answers.”
What is RUI?
Released Under Investigation was introduced in 2017 to reduce unnecessary bail. When somebody is arrested, they can either be charged within 24 hours, released on pre-charge bail or be RUI.
With RUI there are no conditions, time limits, and police don’t have to give updates. This contrasts with pre-charge bail which has regular three-month reviews, the right to challenge bail after nine months, and a requirement for updates.
“The system has no teeth”, expert warns
The system is failing both suspects and victims. But why is this happening?
Sharron Boyce, a Chartered Legal Executive at Brett Wilson LLP, says police are massively lacking resources to conduct investigations as quickly as they should. Many of her cases are also for severe cases, such as sexual offences.
“Under RUI, the police are not obliged to update anyone. But I am often writing to the police saying my client is really struggling with their anxiety.”
Sharron Boyce, Chartered Legal Executive at Brett Wilson LLP.
Home Office guidance from 2023, tells officers to set an ‘Expected Finish Date’, is routinely ignored in Sharron’s experience. “It has no teeth.”
And for those without money, like Mandelson and Andrew?
“There will be a subcategory of people who have no idea what’s going on because they can’t afford a lawyer to chase it.”
Leveson: Scrap RUI Entirely
In June 2025, Sir Brian Leveson published his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. His conclusion was firm: RUI should be abolished.
He recommended instead that bail should be the only mechanism for releasing suspects. Sharron Boyce supports to the ban of RUI, saying often she says to clients being on bail is a better option because of the conditions and time constraints.
For the London man at the centre of this story, the impact is already there.
“It’s crazy – you adopt this lifestyle that becomes your norm.” He says scrapping RUI needs to be done because it impacts victims, suspects and witnesses alike.
As the nation watches the arrests of Andrew and Mandelson play out, thousands of ordinary people remain trapped in a system with no end in sight.
And for our anonymous suspect?
“I just want to know what’s happening. That’s all.”
