Former protection officers for Prince Andrew are being urged to come forward and speak to detectives about what they saw and heard while on duty, amid fresh scrutiny of his alleged links to Jeffrey Epstein. The Metropolitan Police have begun identifying and contacting all those who served as protection officers to the Duke of York over the years, asking them to consider whether anything they witnessed may be relevant to ongoing reviews.
The call comes as documents released by the US Department of Justice suggested that Metropolitan Police officers guarded Epstein’s New York home, and police expanded their inquiry by reviewing records of flights at UK airports to see if they were used for human trafficking. Emails have emerged showing arrangements for two Scotland Yard protection officers to guard Epstein’s home while Andrew was staying there in 2010, with one message bearing the subject line “Security for party”.
Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection, said it was “inconceivable” that Andrew’s former guards would not have information, given they would have accompanied him to Epstein’s residences in the US Virgin Islands, New Mexico and Florida. He called for a judge-led inquiry, stating: “For too long the establishment has taken us, the public, for fools. The truth, warts and all, must come out.”
Police are also assessing claims that Epstein used UK airports to traffic women. The Met, Police Scotland, West Midlands police, and forces in Essex, Norfolk and Bedfordshire are examining whether the allegations merit a full criminal investigation. Surrey and Thames Valley police are considering claims of sexual wrongdoing by Andrew, which he has always denied.
On Friday, a former royal protection officer, Paul Page, who has previously claimed that Andrew had women brought into Buckingham Palace, said he had been “told to keep quiet” by the Met. Page received a warning letter reminding him of his obligations of confidentiality, which he interpreted as an instruction to “shut up”.
