Officers from London’s Metropolitan Police were reportedly told to provide security for a party for then-Prince Andrew at convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s New York property.
According to recently released emails by the United States Depart of Justice, two Scotland Yard royal protection officers were told by Epstein’s staff to protect the door of his Manhattan townhouse in 2010 during a party held in honour of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the BBC reported.
The star-studded event also reportedly included American film director Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn, comedian Chelsea Handler, talk show host Charlie Rose, and news anchors Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos. Rolling Stones singer Sir Mick Jagger was also invited but could not attend.
The Times of London noted that “the suggestion that Met officers in effect acted as bouncers for the convicted paedophile will be acutely embarrassing for Britain’s biggest police force, which has failed for many years to charge anyone in connection with the Epstein scandal.”
The disclosure comes after it was reported that Andrew’s personal bodyguards were put up for over a week in the Epstein mansion during the 2010 trip to New York and were even provided with the security code to the building. This comes despite Andrew previously claiming in 2019 that he had only travelled to New York to “cut ties” with Epstein after his conviction for child prostitution.
On Friday, the Met said that it will be contacting all of Andrew’s former bodyguards to determine whether they witnessed any wrongdoing, saying: “They have been asked to consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard … may be relevant to our ongoing reviews.”
Meanwhile, police searches continued on Sunday at Andrew’s former home in Windsor in the wake of his sensational arrest on Thursday, which marked the first arrest of a senior member of the Royal Family in nearly 400 years, since the arrest of King Charles I in 1647.
Although the Met previously decided in 2021 not to charge Andrew over allegations of rape from alleged Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, then-Prince Andrew reportedly reached a financial settlement of £12 million to Giuffre the following year, without admitting guilt.
Andrew’s arrest this week was seemingly unrelated to any allegations of sexual misconduct and is being led by another force, the Thames Valley Police. Andrew was arrested at the Royal Sandringham estate in Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office, amid allegations that he passed sensitive British government information to Epstein while serving as British trade envoy.
This has sparked calls for a separate parliamentary investigation, including from former security minister Tom Tugendhat, who told the Sun on Sunday: “This goes beyond what a court could reasonably consider… Parliament must consider what it means for the country. If the worst is proved, do we need to revisit treason laws written 700 years ago?”
Additionally, the Labour government, which is grappling with its own Epstein scandal and police investigation into Prime Minister Starmer’s former ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, who was also alleged to have passed state secrets to the New York financier, is reportedly planning to introduce legislation to remove Andrew from the line of succession.
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