Police are examining claims about what Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former bodyguards saw while protecting him during his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
It comes as a senior MP ramped up pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor to give evidence in Parliament over his links to the convicted paedophile, saying he had “avoided scrutiny for a decade”.
British police forces are widening their enquiries into revelations from the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
The i Paper understands the Metropolitan Police are not formally investigating protection officers but instead looking into the facts around allegations from an unnamed former senior protection officer that members of the Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP) may have “wilfully turned a blind eye” to Mountbatten-Windsor’s actions.
This could include examining whether protection officers travelled to Epstein’s island, where abuse is alleged to have taken place, and if they did, how close they may have been to the disgraced former royal and others at the time of any alleged misconduct.
Meanwhile, Surrey Police has urged people with information to come forward about claims of human trafficking and sexual assault from the 1990s, which appeared in the Epstein files.
Last week, legal and policing experts told The i Paper that Mountbatten-Windsor’s former protection officers could be asked to disclose what they observed while working for him.
Sources said that information held by Metropolitan Police protection officers should be sought at an early stage by any investigation.
One former royal protection officer claimed colleagues are “frightened to come forward” with potential evidence.
Paul Page, who worked at Buckingham Palace between 1998 and 2004, told The i Paper on Wednesday: “Just because they went to Epstein’s island does not mean that they facilitated him in any criminal activity, or that they witnessed anything… If there was anything untoward, they would be putting it to their superiors.”
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There is no suggestion that the Met Police is launching an official investigation into the former Duke of York’s officers or that they were involved in any wrongdoing.
The i Paper understands the force is encouraging anyone with information to come forward and speak to police.
‘Welcome opportunity to scrutinise former prince’
On Tuesday, it emerged that Mountbatten-Windsor, who has always vehemently denied wrongdoing, could be hauled in front of MPs for a grilling over his relationship with the convicted paedophile.
Cross-party MPs, from the Commons Business and Trade Committee, will meet next Tuesday to decide whether to open an investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor’s work as a UK trade envoy after documents in the Epstein files appeared to show Mountbatten-Windsor sharing confidential reports from the job with the financier.
If summoned to appear before MPs, a person can refuse to do so, but risks being held in contempt of Parliament.
Lib Dem committee member Joshua Reynolds told The i Paper: “The former prince has avoided scrutiny for a decade. That status quo must end. Andrew should be hauled before a Parliamentary Select Committee to testify.
“As a member of the Business and Trade Committee, I’d welcome the opportunity to scrutinise the former prince on behalf of my constituents – many of whom are furious that there seems to be one rule for the royals when it comes to allegations of such awful behaviour, and another for everyone else.”
Of the trafficking claims, Surrey Police said the allegations, set out in a redacted report released by the DoJ in December, allegedly took place in the village of Virginia Water between 1994 and 1996.
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The force’s call for witnesses comes after an FBI report from July 2020, which appeared in the files, in which somebody alleged they were drugged at night and driven to “paedophile ring parties” in the mid 1990s.
The same person also claims to have been hit by a dark blue car “driven by Prince Andrew” in which they allegedly suffered injuries to their ribs, hip and leg.
On Wednesday, the National Police Chiefs’ Council said it was working with the National Crime Agency “to ensure specialist support for forces seeking information from overseas law enforcement agencies” in relation to the Epstein files.
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