Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested as police raid royal properties over Epstein hyperlinks | EUROtoday

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested and his properties at Sandringham and Berkshire raided on Thursday – his 66th birthday – over his hyperlinks to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The former prince was held on suspicion of misconduct in public workplace over claims he leaked delicate paperwork to the disgraced financier whereas working as a UK commerce envoy.

He was held for a number of hours in police custody, whereas searches are ongoing at his Wood Farm property on the King’s property in Norfolk, in addition to his former house, Royal Lodge, in Windsor.

Later, he was seen slouched at the back of a automobile being pushed away from Aylsham police station in Norfolk.

King Charles stated that “the law must take its course” after expressing his “deepest concern” over the arrest of his brother, who was stripped of his royal titles final yr.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor the King have been knowledgeable of his arrest upfront, with each the monarch and Queen Camilla dealing with hecklers and questions from bystanders as they continued with their royal duties throughout a go to to London Fashion Week on Thursday.

The Prince and Princess of Wales haven’t publicly commented however are understood to help the King’s assertion.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, the primary of a senior royal in trendy historical past, comes after greater than 15 years of scrutiny over his ties to Epstein, who died in a US jail in 2019 whereas awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking fees.

In response to his brother’s arrest, Charles stated: “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.

“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities.

“In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested at his house after a convoy of police autos arrived at round 8am, earlier than he was escorted to an undisclosed location to be interviewed by officers.

The information of the previous Duke of York’s arrest comes as footage circulated on-line showing to point out unmarked police vehicles attending Wood Farm, with plain-clothed officers gathered outdoors his house.

In Windsor, vans carrying cops have been seen coming into the gates of his former Berkshire house, the place a search can also be ongoing. Runners, canine walkers and kids on scooters have been nonetheless roaming the sprawling parks surrounding the residence, whereas reporters and photographers have been held at an outer gate past Windsor Great Park, barred from coming into.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor is dealing with allegations that he shared delicate data with Epstein whereas serving because the UK’s commerce envoy, which included forwarding confidential paperwork.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) web site, misconduct in public workplace carries a most sentence of life imprisonment.

Confirming the probe, Oliver Wright, Thames Valley Police’s assistant chief constable, stated: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.

“It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence. We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”

Before the arrest was introduced, Sir Keir Starmer advised BBC Breakfast“nobody is above the law,” when he was requested about Mr Mountbatten-Windsor.

He added: “Anybody who has any information should testify. So whether it’s Andrew or anybody else, anybody who has got relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is, in this particular case, we’re talking about Epstein, but there are plenty of other cases.”

Several police forces throughout the UK are assessing data launched as a part of the newest dump of Epstein recordsdata, together with the Metropolitan Police and forces in Surrey, Bedfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Wiltshire and the West Midlands.

Thames Valley Police has additionally stated it’s reviewing allegations {that a} girl was trafficked to the UK by Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Mr Mountbatten-Windsor. And on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police stated it was additionally wanting into claims the previous prince’s safety officers turned a “blind eye” to his visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James.

Responding to information of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, former prime minister Gordon Brown stated he had submitted a five-page memorandum to UK police forces, together with the Met, Surrey, Sussex and Thames Valley.

“This memorandum provides new and additional information to that which I submitted last week to the Met, Essex and Thames Valley police forces where I expressed my concern that we secure justice for trafficked girls and women,” he stated.

Mr Brown beforehand claimed that the Epstein recordsdata confirmed in “graphic detail” how the financier was ready to make use of London Stansted airport to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia” and known as for police to analyze.

Separately, Virginia Giuffre, who took her personal life final yr, alleged in a civil court docket case that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor had sexually assaulted her. She claimed to have met the previous prince whereas being trafficked by Epstein and his confederate Ghislaine Maxwell, who’s at the moment serving a 20-year jail sentence. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has at all times vehemently denied the claims, however he paid tens of millions to settle Ms Giuffre’s civil case in 2022, regardless of insisting he had by no means met her.

Her household welcomed Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, stating: “At last, today our broken hearts have been lifted with the news that no one is above the law – not even royalty.

“On behalf of our sister, we extend our gratitude to the UK’s Thames Valley Police in their investigation and arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.”

The King’s brother was stripped of each his prince title and dukedom final yr after it emerged that he had maintained his friendship with Epstein for longer than he had beforehand claimed.

He does, nonetheless, stay within the line of succession – he’s eighth in line to the throne, having regularly moved down after being born second in line.

Removing somebody from the road of succession is not possible with out new laws, however Labour MP Rachael Maskell and Conservative MP Chris Philp have known as for a legislation change, saying the previous duke ought to now not be in line for the throne.