Former business secretary calls for Andrew corruption probe | UK | News

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s tenure as trade envoy should be investigated for possible corruption, a former trade minister has said.

Documents released by the United States Department of Justice show the former prince shared secret reports with disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein while serving as Britain’s trade envoy.

Government guidance states that the trade ambassador role carries a duty of confidentiality regarding sensitive information.

This obligation of confidentiality continues to be valid after the end of their term of office.

Sir Cable told the BBC: “We need a police or DPP (director of public inquiry) to check whether there was criminal corruption and a government inquiry into how this was allowed to happen.”

Thames Valley Police said it was consulting with experts from the Crown Prosecution Service about the allegations.

“Whilst we cannot give a timetable for when a decision will be made on whether a criminal investigation will be opened, we can assure Thames Valley Police is making progress as quickly as possible,” the force said.

The former Duke visited Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore in his capacity as trade ambassador in late 2010. These visits included meetings and trade negotiations.

A November 2010 email was forwarded by the former royal five minutes after it was sent by her then-special adviser Amir Patel.

Andrew told the BBC’s Newsnight program in 2019 that he cut off contact with the late Epstein in December 2010.

In February 2011, Andrew told Epstein that he had visited a private equity firm and was “considering you” as a financier, reportedly “looking for somewhere to go for the money.”

Andrew appears several times in documents related to Epstein. Being included or mentioned in the files does not constitute a crime.