Significant news from the US yesterday as US congressman Thomas Massie has accused Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of sex crimes from the floor of the US Congress. Massie, along with fellow congressman Ro Khanna, has been instrumental in bringing about the landmark Epstein Files Transparency Act and the wider transparency campaign that catalysed the downfall of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the disgrace of Sarah Ferguson.
The pair have continued their campaign as the Trump administration has, now illegally, sought to ensure the full Epstein files remain hidden from public view. However, even the tiny proportion of what has been released has allowed those seeking the truth and justice at least some validation and has exposed the years of lies from figures such as Andrew, Fergie and Peter Mandelson.
While Massie’s highlighting of the accusations against Andrew and others may not lead to action and has led to accusations of theatrics, it is a reminder of how little investigation there has been in the UK and the US into the serious sexual allegations made against Andrew and many other Epstein associates.
Massie and Khanna’s admirable success in at least forcing the partial release of the files only highlights the feebleness of our own Parliament, which has exercised little of its considerable power to investigate Epstein’s crimes in this country and how he was enabled.
While MPs held a debate about Andrew, this was only after he was stripped of his titles. The absurd and anachronistic convention of not impugning any royal means that they still have their hands tied behind their backs should any future royal scandals erupt around a titled member of the family.
There is at least a Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the Crown Estate and associated properties, but this will not extend to royal finances more broadly. For example, it will not cover questions raised by Gabriel Pogrund’s reporting last weekend that the Queen’s sister, Annabel Elliot, is on the payroll not of the King’s vast private estate, the Duchy of Lancaster, but of his charity, The King’s Foundation. She had previously been on the payroll of the Duchy of Cornwall before William inherited the estate in 2022 and ended the arrangement.
Gordon Brown has done some admirable and important work in his two investigative pieces for the New Statesman, which raised critical questions that Andrew should answer and also asked why on earth Epstein was able to maintain his operation in the UK right up until 2019, over a decade after his conviction for soliciting children for prostitution. However, apart from Alex Davies-Jones, who has been vociferous in her quest for justice for Epstein’s victims, including pushing for PM Andy Burnham to meet with them, the other 649 MPs and 809 peers have been conspicuous by their undignified silence.
With the news that one of Andrew and Epstein’s victims from the US is now considering speaking to UK police and with further information due to come out soon about both Andrew and Fergie, it looks like there will be further discomfort for the Yorks. However, conversely, the UK police are briefing that an uncooperative US justice system may force them to drop their investigation into Peter Mandelson and, one presumes, Andrew as well.
While the National Archives, the Palace and the Cabinet Office continue to obfuscate and deny victims and the British public the transparency they deserve, it is more critical than ever that the fight to bring the truth to light continues. We must hope that more lawmakers have the courage and conviction on our side of the pond, or the can will continue to be kicked down the road for another decade.