Starmer says “Nobody is above the law” as UK investigations over Andrew and Epstein grow
Sir Keir Starmer has said that “nobody is above the law” as pressure continues to grow over fresh allegations surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The prime minister told BBC Breakfast that the principle of equality before the law “has to apply in this case in the same way it would in any other case”. When he was asked whether Andrew should voluntarily speak to police, he said: “I think that’s a matter for the police. They will conduct their own investigations. But 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 that is applied across the board.”
Starmer also repeated his view that anyone with relevant information should give evidence to US authorities. “Anybody who has any information should testify, so whether it’s Andrew or anybody else, anybody who’s got relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is,” he said.
Starmer said he would not block a Commons debate if MPs wanted to discuss Andrew’s links to Epstein. “I wouldn’t stand in the way of it. I think it’s important that we discuss all of these cases.”
Nine police forces now investigating allegations around Epstein
The fallout from the latest release of files by the US Department of Justice has triggered a nationwide response in the UK. What began as a review by Thames Valley Police has expanded into a nine-force effort supported by the National Crime Agency:
- Police Scotland has appealed for information about Epstein’s use of Edinburgh Airport.
- Surrey Police is seeking details linked to historic trafficking and sexual assault claims.
- Metropolitan Police said it is carrying out “initial enquiries” into claims that protection officers assigned to Andrew may have “turned a blind eye” during visits to Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James. The Met added it had “not identified any wrongdoing” but confirmed that work is ongoing to establish the facts.
- The West Midlands, Essex and Bedfordshire police forces, which cover airports in Birmingham, Stansted and Luton, are also reviewing material about private flights connected to Epstein.
- Thames Valley Police is assessing claims that a woman in her 20s was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew at Royal Lodge in 2010. The force is also separately considering whether there are grounds to investigate suspected misconduct in public office following allegations that confidential documents were shared by the former prince while Andrew was serving as a UK trade envoy.
Emails released in the US appear to show information from official overseas visits being forwarded to Epstein shortly after being received. The files also reference attempts to connect Epstein with international figures and include previously unseen photographs.
Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing regarding the allegations around him and Epstein. He has also denied allegations made by Virginia Giuffre, who said she was trafficked as a teenager and forced to have sex with him on several occasions. He said he did not recall meeting her but paid a reported £12m to settle a US civil case in 2022. Giuffre died by suicide last year.
The Department of Justice has warned that the files may contain material that was “falsely submitted”, and continues to state that the inclusion of someone’s name in the files does not immediately suggest that they participated in criminal activity.
Epstein died in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His former associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in the US.
