Andrew should respond to Epstein probe: Starmer
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should provide any relevant information to the US committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes.
“If you have relevant information you should be prepared to share it,” he said after the former prince ignored a request for testimony.
The Prime Minister refused to comment specifically about the disgraced former royal, but said as a “general principle” anyone who knew the relevant details should be prepared to disclose them.
US lawmakers have criticized Andrew for what they described as “silence” during their investigation into pedophile financier Epstein, who committed suicide in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Members of the House Oversight Committee had requested a “written interview” with the former prince due to his “longstanding friendship” with Epstein.
But Democrats Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam accused Andrew of hiding after saying they had not heard from him.
Asked whether Andrew would assist with the investigation, Sir Keir told reporters at the Johannesburg G20 summit: “I am not commenting on his specific situation.
“But the general principle that I have long held is that anyone who has information about such cases should make this evidence available to those who need it.
“That’s my general stance on this.”
Asked if this would apply to Andrew, he said: “In the end it will be a decision for him.
“But my general view is that if you have relevant information you should be prepared to share it.”
Andrew, who was stripped of his titles as prince and Duke of York earlier this month, denies any wrongdoing.
She was exiled from the monarchy for “serious errors of judgment” regarding her relationship with convicted sex offender Epstein and was made a private citizen by her brother the King.
The move follows the posthumous publication of the memoirs of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused Giuffre of sexually assaulting her in her youth, and the US government’s release of documents from Epstein’s estate.
The Metropolitan Police are investigating allegations that Andrew gave Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard in 2011 and asked him to investigate.
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