An allegation from a second woman that she was sent to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s home by Jeffrey Epstein “does need to be investigated”, according to a former Metropolitan Police chief.
The encounter allegedly took place at the Royal Lodge in Windsor in 2010, the former duke’s residence at the time, when the woman was in her 20s, her lawyer told the BBC.
Speaking to Sky News, Neil Basu, who was assistant commissioner from 2018-2021, said that the Met “would have a legal duty to cooperate” if the likes of the FBI come to them with fresh evidence of serious criminality relating to British subjects.
US lawyer Brad Edwards has said he’s been instructed by a woman who claims she was taken to Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate in 2010.
There has been no public comment from Andrew since the latest allegations. He has always vehemently denied all claims against him.
The allegation was reported by the BBC the day after the latest drop of millions of files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday.
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Talking about this latest allegation, Basu said British officers may be called upon for help.
“The FBI may be interested, and they may ask the Metropolitan Police for assistance, but there’s certainly an allegation of very serious crime there,” he said.
“So, it does need to be investigated, and I would expect the police, the British police, to be part of that.”
The latest release of documents has led to calls for the London force to open its own investigations into whether any crimes linked to Epstein were committed in the UK.
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Basu said the Met would be unlikely to be looking proactively through the documents themselves – but, asked if new revelations put added pressure on the force to act, Basu said they may end up legally compelled to do more.
“…certainly if they’re asked to by the FBI, because they’ve uncovered serious criminality, and there may be British subjects involved, yes, it would put, whether, I wouldn’t use the expression put pressure on it, it would be their legal duty to cooperate.”
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He added that if there are requests to talk to Andrew or others named in the latest files, they wouldn’t necessarily have to travel to the US to help authorities there.
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Explaining the procedure under which they may be spoken with, he said: “There’s a legal process called mutual legal assistance treaties… if we have a witness or a suspect who’s living in the United Kingdom… if we think it’s solid, we would help them with that.
“Most jurisdictions require the actual interview of the individual to be done by the host force, so in this case, by a British police force, probably the Metropolitan Police.
“So, the FBI could be present, but the British police would lead the investigation. There’s no need for the former prince to travel.
“He could be interviewed in this country. And many people, you know, I won’t be the first person to say that he should do that.”
