By Michael Holden
LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) – The British police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be long and complex, senior officers said on Friday, after his arrest earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence that can include sexual impropriety.
King Charles’ younger brother was interviewed under caution for hours by detectives after he was arrested at his home in Norfolk in February following the release of millions of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice relating to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The arrest of the senior royal, eighth in line to the throne, was unprecedented in modern times. A Reuters photo of the ashen-faced former prince leaving the police station made front pages around the world.
Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and said he regrets their friendship. He has made no public statement since his arrest.
‘HUGELY THOROUGH INVESTIGATION’
“The investigation is by necessity hugely thorough and will take time,” Oliver Wright, Assistant Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, who are carrying out the inquiry, told reporters. “It’s not going to be a quick investigation by any means.”
The focus of the inquiry is the former prince’s role as special representative for trade and investment between 2001 and 2011, with emails released by the DOJ suggesting he had shared sensitive information with Epstein.
However, misconduct in public office, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, can relate to any serious wrongdoing – from sharing confidential information to corruption and sexual misconduct.
“There’s a number of aspects of alleged misconduct that the investigation is examining. So we’re speaking with a range of witnesses,” said Wright, who did not refer to Mountbatten-Windsor by name, as is customary in Britain before someone is charged.
Wright said police had received “a significant amount of information” from the public and other sources and that the investigation would be incredibly complex.
He said the force was also assessing reports that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes after a lawyer for the alleged victim told the BBC she had been sent to Britain by Epstein for a sexual encounter with the former prince.
Detectives have spoken to the lawyer but the woman involved has not yet reported the offence. The British police said some victims might be put off because of the pressure of national and international attention.
“In terms of Epstein victims and survivors, we hope that anyone with relevant information will come forward and I really want to stress that our door is open whenever a victim survivor is ready to engage with us. We’re ready for you at whatever point that may be,” Wright said.
A specialist team of experienced officers is carrying out the investigation, which is being treated as a major crime, on a par with a murder inquiry. They have also been liaising with the U.S. Department of Justice but as yet have not received any of the Epstein documents.
“That is ongoing, and it’s a fairly complex thing to do, but we’re working very hard on that,” Wright said.
On Thursday, the British government released confidential documents relating to Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as trade envoy that showed the late queen had pressed for him to get the role.
However, King Charles, who stripped his sibling of his titles and honours last October, said he was deeply concerned about the news when Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested and that authorities had the family’s “full and wholehearted support and cooperation”.
Thames Valley is not the only British police force looking into possible offences relating to information in the Epstein files.
On Tuesday, Surrey police said it was investigating two allegations of child sex abuse, one reported to have been committed in the 1980s and the other in the mid-1990s to 2000. It gave no further details about who was involved.
(Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
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