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Keir Starmer piles stress on Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to offer proof on Epstein

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces US Congress deadline as the prime minister says those with relevant information should cooperate with the Epstein investigation

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should provide testimony to American lawmakers regarding the Epstein affair, Sir Keir Starmer has suggested.

The former Duke of York has neglected to answer a demand from US Congress members for a “transcribed interview” concerning his connections to the deceased paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. While en route to the G20 summit in South Africa, the Prime Minister maintained he wouldn’t discuss Andrew’s particular situation.

However, he said: “But as a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it. That would be my general position on this.”

When pushed on whether this would extend to Andrew, Sir Keir responded: “In the end that will be a decision for him”, reports the Express.

“But my general position is if you have relevant information you should be prepared to share it.”

The correspondence, bearing the signatures of 16 Democrats, was dispatched to Andrew on November 6 with a deadline for response set at November 20. The letter read: “We write to seek your co-operation in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s (Committee) investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operations.

“The committee is seeking to uncover the identities of Mr Epstein’s co-conspirators and enablers and to understand the full extent of his criminal operations.

“Well-documented allegations against you, along with your long-standing friendship with Mr Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation.

“In the interest of justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we request that you co-operate with the committee’s investigation by sitting for a transcribed interview with the committee.”

This formal plea comes in the wake of King Charles officially revoking his brother’s prince title last month. Andrew had previously agreed to cease using other titles but had anticipated remaining a prince and keeping his dukedom.

This shock move followed the release of his main accuser Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoirs, as well as the US government’s disclosure of documents from Epstein’s estate. Ms Giuffre claimed she was coerced into having sex with Andrew on three occasions – once at convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell’s London residence, once at Epstein’s Manhattan address, and once on the disgraced financier’s private island, Little St James.

The alleged incident at Maxwell’s home supposedly took place when Ms Giuffre was just 17 years old. The former prince categorically denies all allegations levelled against him.

The letter continued: “Given these recent events and the appalling allegations that have come to light from Ms Giuffre’s memoir and other reliable sources, the Committee requests that you make yourself available for a transcribed interview with the Committee and provide insight into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators.

“Due to the urgency and gravity of this matter, we ask that you provide a response to the Committee’s interest by November 20, 2025.”

Beyond the claims made by Ms Giuffre, the committee is also pursuing testimony from Andrew regarding accusations that he instructed his personal protection officer to “dig up dirt” for a smear campaign against his accuser in 2011.

The letter stated: “This fear of retaliation has been a persistent obstacle to many of those who were victimised in their fight for justice.

“In addition to Mr Epstein’s crimes, we are investigating any such efforts to silence, intimidate, or threaten victims, and are interested in any avenues that may further shed light on these activities.”

This follows a congressman’s accusation that Andrew has been “hiding” from questioning earlier this week.

Suhas Subramanyam, one of the Democrat members of the House Oversight Committee, told The Guardian that the disgraced Royal “has been hiding from us, and I think he will continue to try to hide from people doing meaningful investigations of this matter”. He continued: “It seems like every time we find more evidence, Prince Andrew seems to be in the documents.

“And so I think if he is hoping that the story will just go away by ignoring us and being silent, he will be sorely disappointed, as we continue to pursue this over the next year and beyond.”

Epstein killed himself in a New York jail in 2019 whilst awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

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