King Charles will grant police access to ALL files and records for any Andrew investigations
King Charles has said he will give police access to all files and records necessary for any investigation into his disgraced brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The former prince was sensationally arrested on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Courtiers fear that the publication of these files could reveal a cover-up. Observer But a royal source told the newspaper that the King would cooperate ‘fully and wholeheartedly’ with the investigation, according to a statement he made after his brother was detained.
The arrest comes after Thames Valley Police said it was ‘assessing’ reports that Andrew shared secret trading reports and investment opportunities with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2010 and 2011, when he was Britain’s special trade envoy to Asia.
The Palace declined to comment when asked whether the King’s official residence would be searched as part of the investigation; here Andrew had a private office and apartment until 2022.
Despite the King’s efforts at transparency, there were shivers of concern in the palace corridors. A royal source said there was a danger that investigators would find out that senior figures at Buckingham Palace “were aware of what Andrew was doing and covered it up”.
The former prince and Epstein were friends for 15 years. But the source sought to distance the King and Prince William from any possible cover-up, telling The Observer that “it would have happened under previous leadership” and that they would not have been party to such decisions.
Andrew was questioned for 11 hours immediately following his arrest and was filmed trying to hide from cameras in a Range Rover as he left Aylsham Police Investigation Centre.
King Charles said he would give police access to all files and records necessary for any investigation into Andrew, despite courtiers’ concerns that a palace cover-up could be exposed.
Andrew was photographed returning from Aylsham Police Investigation Center following 11 hours of questioning following his arrest on Thursday
Police are now searching his former seven-bedroom Windsor residence, Royal Lodge. Senior criminal defense lawyer Marcus Johnstone said they had scope to expand the investigation if they found any evidence of further crimes.
He was taken from Wood Farm on the royal estate of Sandringham in Norfolk after being evicted by King Charles from his residence Royal Lodge in Windsor earlier this month.
Police searched Wood Farm and are searching the seven-bedroom Royal Lodge mansion as part of the investigation.
Police now have wide leeway to expand their investigation and will “follow the evidence” if they come across another crime while combing through the former prince’s files and belongings, The Observer reported.
Senior criminal defense lawyer Marcus Johnstone said police would ‘not ignore’ other crimes they found while investigating the first offence. He told The Observer: ‘What they find on their devices could lead to further investigative work and further interviews.
‘If they’re looking at one attack and they uncover another, they’re not going to ignore it.’
He specifically stated that if Andrew was found to be involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, police would go after him.
Marcus Johnstone said police would go after Andrew if they found evidence linking him to Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. In this Epstein file photo, Andrew appears to be staring at a woman on all fours at Epstein’s New York home
Former prince Andrew and his accuser, the late Virginia Guiffre, with Ghislaine Maxwell. Ms Guiffre claimed he had sex with her when she was 17, but Andrew denied this
Police have expanded their investigation to include Andrew’s staff, and Scotland Yard has asked all royal protection officers working with the disgraced royal to report suspicions of impropriety.
Former royal bodyguard Paul Page claimed ‘more than 40 women’ visited Andrew during the six years he stood guard at Buckingham Palace between 1998 and 2004.
