Now US lawmakers call for Andrew to reveal what he knew about Epstein

Calls for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to answer questions over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein in the US have intensified after the former prince was stripped of his titles.

King Charles removed Andrew’s royal titles and confirmed on Thursday he will evict the disgraced royal from his mansion in the grounds of Windsor Castle amid outrage over fresh allegations tied to his relationship with sex offender Epstein. Buckingham Palace said the censures were needed even though Andrew has continued to deny the allegations made against him.

Lawmakers in the US have now ramped up their calls for Andrew to hand over information on Epstein’s crimes to a House Oversight Committee, with key figures saying he may even be able to speak to a congressional committee remotely via video link.

The BBC reported that at least four Democrat members of the House Oversight Committee investigating the US government’s handling of the Epstein case had renewed calls for Andrew to testify.

Democrat congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said he would be willing to formally call Andrew to testify, but admitted it may be hard to enforce with the former prince outside the US.

“However, if Andrew wishes to come to the United States or he’s here, then he’s subject to the jurisdiction of the US Congress, and I would expect him to testify,” he told the BBC.

“At the end of the day, we want to know exactly what happened, not just to give justice to the survivors, but to prevent this from ever happening again.

“Come clean, come before the US Congress, voluntarily testify, don’t wait for a subpoena, come and testify and tell us what you know.”

Another Democrat congressman, Suhas Subramanyam, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: “I would like for him to come to our committee and tell us everything he knows about Jeffrey Epstein and the crimes that were committed.

“I think this would be a great way for Andrew to clear his name, it would be a great way for us to continue our pursuit of justice for the victims, and frankly, Andrew’s name has come up many times from the victims, and so he clearly has knowledge of what happened, and we just want him to come forward and tell us what he knows.”

Spencer Kuvin, a lawyer representing some of the victims of Epstein, also called for Andrew to testify.

He told BBC News: “We need to hear his story and hear what he is saying about what occurred, but also he could testify about other potential co-conspirators that he saw that may have been present at the mansions here in the States that were doing inappropriate activities.

“So on both fronts, both on behalf of other victims, but potentially on behalf of himself, we would like Andrew to come here and testify.”

He added of the removal of Andrew’s titles: “The victims are very glad that the crown is taking this action, that the King has recognised the seriousness of this situation, and his statement the other day was appreciated by the victims.”

On Saturday, a former top prosecutor urged the Metropolitan Police to reopen its investigations into allegations that Andrew sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre while she was being trafficked by Epstein. The force previously decided not to launch a criminal probe into the claim.

Nazir Afzal, previously chief prosecutor for North West England, said the Met should re-examine their decision. “At that time, a statement hadn’t been taken from Virginia Giuffre, and then in 2021, a further review took place based on findings from the civil case and also from the Ghislaine Maxwell prosecution in the US, and again the matter wasn’t investigated,” he told the Today programme.

“Public confidence has been shaken by this,” he said. “People do feel that there is some two-tier justice here – that if you are powerful, you don’t get the same level of attention as you would do if you were say homeless.”

Buckingham Palace has been asked to comment.

On Friday, UK trade minister Chris Bryant told the BBC that Andrew should go to the US to answer questions about Epstein.

“I think that just as with any ordinary members of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” he said. “So I feel exactly the same in this situation.

“What I’m basically saying is that I think that if Andrew is asked to do something by a Senate committee, then I would have thought that he would want to comply.”

In the UK, the police watchdog said it had contacted the Metropolitan Police to ask if there were matters it should be looking into in light of recent media reports.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it had contacted Scotland Yard's Directorate of Professional Standards last week, but had not yet received any referrals.