Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on February 19 (file)(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is advising two police forces amid their probes into Lord Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The CPS said prosecutors are providing “early investigative advice” to the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police, who are separately carrying out enquiries into Lord Mandelson and Andrew’s links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A CPS spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are now providing early investigative advice to the Metropolitan Police Service regarding the force’s investigation into a 72-year-old man and will continue to liaise as requested.
“We can now also confirm that we are providing early investigative advice to Thames Valley Police in relation to a 66-year-old man. We remain ready to support any investigation if needed.”
Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the US, pictured leaving his house in London on March 10(Image: AP)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, and Lord Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the US, were separately arrested earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office over their alleged connections to the paedophile financier. They have since been released under investigation.
Lord Mandelson was accused of disclosing sensitive information to Epstein during his time as business secretary. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) released millions of pages of documents related to Epstein in January, with some of the pages showing alleged communications between Lord Mandelson and the sex offender.
Emails from 2009, which can be seen in the Epstein files, appear to show Lord Mandelson pass on an assessment by Gordon Brown’s adviser of potential policy measures, including an “asset sales plan”. He also appeared to discuss a tax on bankers’ bonuses and confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
The emails appear to have been sent to Epstein after he had become a convicted sex offender. Lord Mandelson lost his job as the UK’s ambassador to the US in September last year due to his association with Epstein.
Meanwhile, Andrew is the subject of a misconduct in public office investigation being led by Thames Valley Police. The force said it was speaking to a “range of partners” in connection with its investigation into the former prince, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
Buckingham Palace confirmed this week that the King’s planned state visit to the US in late April will go ahead. King Charles and Queen Camilla’s historic trip to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain will take place despite calls for it to be postponed or cancelled due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. It is understood, however, that Charles and Camilla will not be able to meet survivors of Epstein while UK police investigations are ongoing.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet US President Donald Trump in late April(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
Last week, a US congressman backed the Metropolitan Police Commissioner’s call for US authorities to release unredacted correspondence between Lord Mandelson and Epstein. Sir Mark Rowley raised the issue during a visit to Washington last week, and Republican Thomas Massie later said he agreed the DOJ should share the unredacted evidence with UK officials.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight on Tuesday, Mr Massie said: “They absolutely should, and from what I’ve read, it sounds like they are sharing that. They absolutely should share that, and there are things that aren’t released, so we can talk about the redacted files, and obviously he would want to see the unredacted files.”
The Met has already contacted US authorities for further details on what has been disclosed in the files. It is unclear whether the force will need to submit a formal mutual legal assistance (MLA) request to gain access to the unredacted files – a process that could take considerably longer.
US authorities previously sent an MLA to the Home Office requesting Andrew’s assistance as an alleged witness to Epstein’s offending.