The Metropolitan Police has announced it is widening its investigation into Prince Andrew by approaching all his former protection officers and reviewing flight records at London airports to determine whether they were used for human trafficking. The disclosure is separate from the inquiry that led to the prince's arrest on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but underscores the complexity of multiple investigations now focused on the King's brother.
Prince Andrew spent 11 hours at a Norfolk police station on Thursday, where his mugshot was taken. Thames Valley police searched his former home at Royal Lodge, Windsor, for a second day on Friday. The Met said it was identifying current and former serving officers who may have worked closely with the prince in a personal protection capacity, asking them to consider whether anything they saw or heard may be relevant to ongoing reviews.
The Met also said it would examine claims that airports in the London area, including Heathrow, Biggin Hill, and RAF Northolt, were used by flights linked to Jeffrey Epstein to traffic women. Five other British forces - Norfolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, West Midlands, and Police Scotland - are assessing similar claims about airports in their areas. Surrey and Thames Valley police are considering claims of sexual wrongdoing by the prince.
In a significant political development, the government said on Friday it would consider introducing legislation to remove Prince Andrew from the line of succession once police investigations have concluded. Meanwhile, up to eight forces are seeking unredacted documents relating to Epstein from the US Department of Justice. The National Crime Agency will make formal requests, with some forces using artificial intelligence to process the millions of files.
A national coordinating committee, led by Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe, has been set up to oversee the various investigations. A senior source said: "There are millions of documents which we want unredacted. We need to turn that into evidence. It is a massive job." The former Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson is also under investigation for misconduct in public office over alleged links to Epstein. Both he and Prince Andrew have denied any wrongdoing.
