NewsBeat
Met Police give Epstein investigation update as Andrew’s protection officers contacted
Detectives have urged Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former close protection officers to “consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard” is relevant to their investigation into paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
The Metropolitan Police said it was also working with counterparts in the US to establish whether London airports had been used to “facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation”.
On Friday, the force said no new reports of alleged sexual offences have been made since the release of millions of pages of documents related to Epstein by the US Department of Justice.
The Met’s words follow Andrew’s arrest on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, which saw him held in custody for 11 hours before being released under investigation.
The force previously said it was looking into allegations Andrew’s protection officers turned a “blind eye” to his visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James.
Police are yet to identify any wrongdoing by close protection officers.
Andrew’s primary accuser, Virginia Giuffre, alleged she had sex with him during an orgy with “underage” girls on the Caribbean island.
The former prince has previously vehemently denied all allegations made against him.
Andrew, who is the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested, was held for around 11 hours on his 66th birthday before he was released under investigation by Thames Valley Police.
It is understood the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are yet to provide any “early investigative advice” to the force.
On Friday, a helicopter circled Royal Lodge in Windsor with unmarked vans, believed to be police vehicles, entering the grounds throughout the morning.
A police presence remained at the Sandringham Estate but searches of Andrew’s Norfolk home concluded on Thursday.
The arrest of the King’s younger brother made headlines across the world, including a picture of him looking drained and exhausted, slouched in the back of a vehicle leaving Aylsham police station.
Both the King and Queen, who carried on their duties as normal after the news, did not answer questions posed to them about Andrew during engagements in London on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump described the news as “very sad” and “so bad for the royal family”.