Calls are mounting for the Duke of York to cooperate with police investigations into his connections with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as new evidence emerges about flights through UK airports and allegations of sexual misconduct.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown has urged the Metropolitan Police to interview Prince Andrew, citing a BBC investigation that found Epstein’s private planes had travelled through Stansted and other UK airports, where women were reportedly transferred between aircraft. Brown wrote in the New Statesman that he had been “told privately” that previous inquiries “did not properly check vital evidence of flights”.
Labour MP Sarah Owen, chair of the Commons women and equalities committee, pressed Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward on Thursday over why the prince had not answered questions from police or parliament. Owen told the Guardian that MPs “can no longer afford to be deferential when it comes to the royals”. Former Victims’ Commissioner Vera Baird also called for a police investigation, saying the prince was unlikely to act voluntarily.
Thames Valley Police is assessing whether to investigate an allegation that a woman in her 20s was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Prince Andrew at his former Royal Lodge residence in 2010. The force is also examining claims that Andrew shared documents with Epstein while serving as UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
The prince has consistently denied any wrongdoing, including a claim by Virginia Giuffre that she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17. In a 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, he said a photograph showing his arm around Giuffre’s waist could not be verified and cited a Pizza Express alibi for the night in question. Despite mounting pressure, the Duke has made no public response to the latest demands for his cooperation.
