Thames Valley Police detectives have issued an update on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor investigation over potential misconduct in a public office after his arrest on his birthday
Detectives investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor over potential misconduct in a public office probe are assessing claims of sexual offences as work may continue for months.
Thames Valley Police said any possible victims would be treated with “care, sensitivity and respect” as they appealed for witnesses to come forward.
Officers are understood to have widened their investigation to examine “a number of aspects of alleged misconduct” including possible sexual wrongdoing and corruption.
It comes after the former Prince was released under investigation in February after being arrested on his 66th birthday and interviewed for 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.
The original allegations were that he gave commercially valuable information to his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the UK’s special trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
Officers, including those specialising in complex sexual offence probes, are following a number of lines of inquiry in the wake of the publication of the Epstein files.
They are understood to be carefully working through material that was seized during a week-long fingertip search at Mountbatten-Windsor’s former 30-room Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor.
Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said on Friday (May 22): “Our misconduct in public office investigation is continuing. Misconduct in public office is a crime that can take different forms, making this a complex investigation.
“Our team of very experienced detectives are working meticulously through a significant amount of information that has come in from the public and other sources. We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation into all reasonable lines of enquiry, wherever they may lead.
“We encourage anyone with information to get in touch with us through the normal non-urgent contact channels, such as the Thames Valley Police online portal .
“I understand the high level of interest in this work, but please be patient as we continue to actively progress our investigation. We will provide further updates to the public and media when appropriate.”
The force is actively supporting national policing in contacting Epstein victims and survivors.
It said: “We hope that anyone with relevant information will come forward whenever they are ready to engage with us; our door is always open.”
A gold group hosted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council is co-ordinating British policing efforts to examine allegations contained in the Epstein files.
Along with the investigation into misconduct in public office, detectives continue to assess reports that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes.
They have told her lawyer that should she wish to report this to police, “it will be taken seriously and handled with care, sensitivity and respect for her privacy and her right for anonymity,” the force said.
It added: “We recognise how difficult it can be to speak about experiences of this nature, and any contact with police will be led by her wishes, when and if she feels ready and able to do so.”
The alleged incident reportedly occurred at the former prince’s residence, Royal Lodge, in 2010. The woman, who is not British, was in her 20s at the time.
Her lawyer, Brad Edwards, has previously said: “We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew.”
Mr Edwards said that after spending the night with the former Prince, the woman says she was given tea and a tour of Buckingham Palace.
In 2014, the late Virginia Giuffre became the first woman to publicly accuse Mountbatten-Windsor of similar allegations.
She claimed that aged 17 she was trafficked by Epstein and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, and forced to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor. He continues to deny this.
Ms Giuffre lodged a civil lawsuit in the US against him in 2021 for an estimated £12m. She took her own life last year.
Because Mountbatten-Windsor was released under investigation, police and prosecution lawyers have no time limits before deciding whether to charge him. The investigation is expected to take many months.
Only redacted copies of documents relating to the disgraced financier and paedophile Epstein and his associates have been published on the US Department of Justice website.
The DoJ has told UK police it will not hand over the original papers without a formal request being made. It is understood that no material has been disclosed so far.
According to emails released in the Epstein files, the former prince passed on reports to his former friend of visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam and confidential details of investment opportunities.
Trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive, commercial, or political information about their official visits under official rules.
It is not clear whether Andrew’s job made him a public official due to the ambiguity of the law relating to the charge. He has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
Misconduct in public office involves “serious wilful abuse or neglect” of the power or responsibilities of the public office held.
Abuse of powers can take many forms, including “abuse of position for a sexual purpose”.
The Crown Prosecution Service website states: “Members of the public expect to be able to trust persons who hold positions of power to act professionally and not to use their position to instigate (or attempt to instigate) sexual or otherwise inappropriate relationships.”
It carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; sentences depend on the facts of the case.
Files released on Thursday revealed that Queen Elizabeth II was “very keen” for her son to become a trade envoy in 2000.
The papers relating to Mountbatten-Windsor’s government role were released in response to a request by Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The late Queen wanted her son to take on a “prominent role in the promotion of national interests”, then-chief executive of British Trade International Sir David Wright said in a memo to then-foreign secretary Robin Cook.
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