Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor latest: MP calls for treason probe as Royal Lodge searches continue

Two royal protection officers appear to have been told to act as doormen at the paedophile financier’s seven-floor Manhattan mansion in 2010, after he had been convicted of a child sex offence, according to emails first reported by the Sunday Times.

The officers, charged with protecting the prince, were staying at the multimillion-pound townhouse on 71st street during the royal’s trip to visit his friend, according to emails unearthed in the latest tranche of the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.

The Independent’s crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin has more below:

The picture of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor slumped in the back seat of a car after he was released under investigation on Thursday was splashed across the front page of every national newspaper in the UK on Friday.

The historic picture showed a former royal at an unprecedented moment, and is likely to be one remembered for decades. But it was also a notoriously tricky shot to get.

Reuters photographer Phil Noble opened up about how he managed to capture the picture we’ll all remember.

An unnamed former senior Met protection officer told LBC on Tuesday that members of the Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP) may have “wilfully turned a blind eye” during visits to a private island owned by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The Independent’s Bryony Gooch has more below:

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Gordon Brown has reportedly asked the police to investigate whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor used taxpayer-funded jets and RAF bases to meet paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

According to The Telegraph, the former prime minister wrote six letters to different police forces suggesting that civil servants be questioned about Andrew’s time as a trade envoy.

As well as raising concerns over the use of RAF jets, he is also said to have raised concerns that the disgraced former prince leaked confidential information from the trips in a “wholly unacceptable” use of public money.

Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick has said the party would support legislation to prevent Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from ever becoming king.

He told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky: “If the government bring forward this Bill with the support of the King, then we will back it.”

But he said with the former prince eighth in line to the throne there is “no chance” of him becoming monarch and urged parliament to focus on things that are “more important to the public”.

He said: “We have to be realistic, Andrew is the eighth in line to the throne, so there’s no chance of him becoming our monarch.

“And so parliament really should be focused on things that are more important to the public, whether that’s economy, crime, the health service, immigration, but if the Bill does come before parliament then we’ll support it.

“My main feeling today, emotion, is sadness really for the King and the royal family, because they’ve been let down so badly, as of course have the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

“The King serves this country extremely well and Andrew has disgraced the royal family, and he’s disgraced our country in the process.”

The Independent editor-in-chief Geordie Greig said the King’s visit to the US will also highlight how “justice is being seen in the UK, not in America”.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg on her Sunday morning show, he said: “I think with the King going there, that will again highlight the question, why is justice being seen in the UK and not in the US?”.

King Charles’ upcoming tour in the US is an “opportunity” for the monarch to distance himself from his disgraced brother, The Independent’s editor-in-chief has said.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg, Geordie Greig said: “The tour in America with Charles about to go, I think, is an opportunity for the royal family to shine through.

“We will see the comparison between the banality and bovine nature of Prince Andrew and the dignity and the confidence and the diplomatic skills which Charles brings.”

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

A Cabinet minister did not rule out a judge-led inquiry after Andrew-Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but said it would be “premature” to do anything while police investigate.

Asked whether the government would consider the move, the education secretary told Sky News: “We’ll look at any sensible proposals that do come forward.

“But it’s premature at the moment, because we do have the police doing their work.

“They need to have the time and space to do so, as the King set out, no-one is above the law, and it’s right that the police go wherever the evidence takes them, so that has to be the focus at the moment.”

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

The government will not introduce legislation to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession until after criminal proceedings have concluded, the education secretary has said.

Asked for a timeline on when we might see the legislation, Bridget Phillipson told Sky News: “We’re not ruling anything out around this, but we have obviously got a live police investigation underway.

“So we’ll not be setting out further steps until the police have been able to do their work and wherever that investigation, wherever the evidence takes them.”