Starmer says ‘nobody is above the law’ and urges Andrew to reveal Epstein links
Sir Keir Starmer has urged Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to speak to authorities in the UK and US about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
He said ‘nobody is above the law’ and insisted that anyone with information ‘has a duty to come forward, whoever they are’.
The prime minister’s comments came just hours before police arrived at Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s home on the Sandringham Estate, in Norfolk, and arrested him on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.
Several police forces are considering allegations stemming from the release by the US Department of Justice in relation to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Asked whether Mr Mountbatten-Windsor should ‘voluntarily’ come forward and speak to British police as part of their inquiries, Sir Keir said: ‘I think that’s a matter for the police. They will conduct their own investigations.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
‘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.’
He also reiterated previous comments he made suggesting Andrew should testify before the US Congress.
Sir Keir said: ‘Anybody who has any information should testify.
‘So whether it’s Andrew or anybody else, anybody who has got relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is, in this particular case we’re talking about Epstein, but there are plenty of other cases.
‘Anybody who has got information relating to any aspect of violence against women and girls has, in my view, a duty to come forward, whoever they are.’
The prime minister added that he ‘wouldn’t stand in the way’ if MPs in Parliament wanted to debate Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Epstein.
It comes after the Metropolitan Police confirmed it is looking into claims that members of Andrew’s royal protection team ‘turned a blind eye’ to his visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James, in the US Virgin Islands.
A protection officer, speaking to LBC, said: ‘I’m not suggesting they definitely witnessed any criminality from Andrew… but there was concern that certain members of the royal protection team wilfully turned a blind eye to what was happening on the island.’
On Tuesday, Essex Police said officers were assessing information about private flights to and from Stansted Airport after information was released as part of the document dump on January 30.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown claimed the files showed in ‘graphic detail’ how Epstein was able to use the airport to ‘fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia’.
A spokesperson for Stansted said the airport ‘does not manage or have any visibility of passenger arrangements on privately operated aircraft’.
Norfolk Police confirmed officers are reviewing documents brought to their attention, but they had not yet received any allegations and were not conducting any investigations.
West Midlands Police reportedly said officers would assess information about flights that passed through Birmingham Airport, according to The Times, while Bedfordshire Police are reportedly looking into Luton flights.
Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police confirmed officers were assessing claims that Andrew shared confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with Epstein.
Andrew has denied any wrongdoing over his Epstein links but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.