The Cabinet Office has been accused of a royal cover-up after papers referring to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were withheld days after they were made available to journalists.

The papers had been released at the National Archives under the 20-year rule, including details of visits made by the royal family, including the then Duke of York.

One set of minutes of the royal visits committee discussed which taxpayer-funded body should pay for Andrew’s trips as a trade envoy.

Andrew with Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi

STR/AP

Journalists had been looking into the minutes when they and other documents in the file were withdrawn. They will not now be made available to the public.

The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for transferring the files to the National Archives, said that the minutes had been included after an “administrative error”, and that they had never been intended for release. Other royal visits committee minutes from that year (2004) were redacted in the original release.

A spokesman said: “All records are managed in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act. Any release is subject to an extensive review process, including engaging expert stakeholders.”

The move has provoked criticism among anti-monarchy campaigners, journalists and authors who have investigated the finances and dealings of Andrew and the royals.

The minutes of the meeting were seemingly unremarkable. While a £90,000 sum was mentioned in relation to Andrew, or “Air Miles Andy” as he was then known, it is understood that this was not about extra money for the then prince.

Instead it was a discussion about payment for Andrew’s trips being moved from UK Trade and Industry to the Royal Travel Office (RTO), both of which were taxpayer-funded. The £90,000 was the RTO’s estimated budget requirement to absorb this change. Journalists did make enquiries about this before the file was redacted on December 19 this year.

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Andrew was also mentioned in relation to his proposed travel programme, which included trips to China, Russia, Bahrain, Qatar, Spain and southeast Asia. There was a suggestion that he could attend the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal, though there was a discussion about whether the Football Association might cover the cost.

Otherwise the minutes were perfunctory, with the only notable mention being an early appearance of Prince William as he began his life as a working royal. A bid for him to visit China in 2005 was turned down, with it being agreed that he shouldn’t start such activities until 2007, when he became 25.

Other items redacted included a list of proposed visits for numerous royals and a letter regarding the then Queen’s approval of a state visit by President Hu Jintao of China.

Andrew meeting with Turkish businessmen at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul in May 2004

MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Andrew Lownie, the author of Entitled, which charts the scandals involving Andrew, said the decision to withdraw the file was “odd behaviour” but not unusual for royal records.

“I certainly had problems getting hold of anything to do with the royal visits,” Lownie said. “It is interesting as to why they are taking this stuff out — there’s nothing embarrassing there. It plays to my experience that everything to do with Andrew is being held up.”

Lownie has previously discovered that files on Andrew will not be released until 2065, in what he called a “continuing cover-up”. He said that the files relating to Andrew’s time as a trade envoy should “all be made public, as required under the Public Records Act”.

Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic, said: “There should be no royal exemption at all. But this exemption surely doesn’t apply to Andrew now he’s no longer a royal.”

Smith added: “The most likely reason for this attempt to stop disclosure is pressure from the Palace. The royals have sought to keep everything under wraps when it comes to Andrew, not to protect him but to protect themselves.”