Police now probe Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s royal safety officers amid claims they ‘turned a blind eye’ throughout Epstein island visits
The Metropolitan Police is examining claims that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s royal protection officers ‘turned a blind eye’ during visits to paedophile Jeffery Epstein’s private island.
It comes after a former officer claimed that ‘certain members’ of the Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP) command may have witnessed abuse at Little St James.
Andrew’s protection team travelled with him on at least two occasions to the island, including a trip on Epstein’s private jet which had been dubbed the Lolita Express.
The unnamed former Met officer said: ‘The big question for me is what Andrew’s protection team witnessed on Epstein island.
‘I’m not suggesting they definitely witnessed any criminality from Andrew, but there was concern that certain members of the royal protection team wilfully turned a blind eye to what was happening on the island.’
The disgraced royal’s chief accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including on Little St James in the early 2000s.
Multiple survivors have also alleged they were trafficked to and abused on the island which Epstein purchased in the US Virgin Islands in 1998.
The disgraced royal’s chief accuser Virginia Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including on Little St James in the early 2000s
The bodyguards were said to have travelled with the then Prince Andrew to the island (pictured) on at least two occasions
The former Duke of York was stripped off his titles over his links to convicted sex offender who died by suicide while in prison awaiting trial
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘At this time, we have not identified any wrongdoing by any protection officers.
‘However, initial enquiries into these specific allegations have begun so we can establish the facts.
‘As with any investigation, should any new allegations come to light these will be assessed in the usual way. This includes any misconduct or criminal matters.’
Speaking on LBC, the former Met protection officer said there were ‘real concerns’ that the bodyguards became ‘too close’ to the Royal Family and ‘may have withheld information’ from the force about what happened on the island.
He said members of the Royal Protection Unit were ‘terrified’ to report behaviour as officers who had filed reports in the past were removed and ‘put back in uniform’.
‘I certainly thought that a line was crossed to the point that we were concerned that information was being withheld from the police.
‘They seemed more loyal to the Royal Family than to the Met – and that’s wrong,’ he explained.
“We used to say they were ‘more royal than the Royals’. Some of them started to wear signet rings and talking and behaving more like members of the Royal Family than a police officer.’
The former Prince Andrew, who was stripped off his titles over his links to Esptein last year, has vehemently denied wrongdoing.
Multiple police forces across the UK have said they are assessing whether to launch investigations into allegations laid bare in the release of more than three million Epstein files.
This includes a probe by Thames Valley Police which is reviewing allegations Epstein provided Andrew with a woman to have sex with at the Royal Lodge in 2010.
The force is also ‘assessing’ allegations published in the Epstein Files that Andrew shared confidential material with Epstein while he was the UK’s trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
Both Essex and Bedfordshire Police are examining flight logs in relation to Epstein’s private jet using terminals at Stanstead and Luton Airports.
