The former Prince Andrew was being held by British police on Thursday after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with his relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein. File Photo by Julien Warnand/EPA
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, was arrested by British police on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office amid a probe into his ties with Jeffrey Epstein.
Thames Valley Police made the arrest at a residence on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, 110 miles north-east of London, as part of their investigation into allegations he passed confidential information when he was Britain’s trade envoy to Jeffrey Epstein, the BBC, The Guardian and The Telegraph reported.
In a statement, which does not name Mountbatten-Windsor, Thames Valley Police said they had arrested a man in his 60s and that “the suspect” was being held in custody in relation to a misconduct in public office investigation.
“As part of the investigation, we have today arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk. The man remains in police custody at this time,” said the force.
The former Duke of York, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and late Prince Philip, who was stripped of all his titles and honors by King Charles in October, turned 66 on Thursday.
The arrest hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said no one was “above the law” and that Andrew should tell authorities on both sides of the Atlantic about his ties to Epstein.
“Anybody who has any information should testify. So whether it’s Andrew or anybody else, anybody who has got relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is, in this particular case we’re talking about Epstein, but there are plenty of other cases,” Starmer told the BBC.
“Anybody who has got information relating to any aspect of violence against women and girls has, in my view, a duty to come forward, whoever they are. One of the core principles in our system is that everybody is equal under the law, and nobody is above the law, and it is really important that is applied across the board.
“That is the principle. It’s a long-standing principle, it’s a very important principle of our country, our society, and it applies, and it has to apply in this case, in the same way as it would apply in any other case,” said Starmer.
The TVP investigation was launched after emails in the latest tranche from the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department appear to show Andrew passing confidential reports and information to Epstein in 2010 in breach of his responsibilities as Britain’s then-trade envoy.
Rules state that trade envoys must not share commercial or political information they are party to with unauthorized persons, that they are bound by the Official Secrets Act and have a duty to keep sensitive documents secure.
Andrew has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, including allegations made by the late Virginia Giuffre, but has remained silent over the most recent slew of allegations.
In 2022, he settled a lawsuit alleging sexual assault brought by Guiffre out of court with an undisclosed payment believed to run to eight figures.
Historic February moments through the years
Former South African president Nelson Mandela speaks to reporters outside of the White House in Washington on October 21, 1999. Mandela was famously released from prison in South Africa on February 11, 1990. Photo by Joel Rennich/UPI | License Photo
