Nobody is above the law: Starmer faces questions over Andrew allegations

Keir Starmer, UK prime minister, has said that “nobody is above the law” as police assess fresh allegations linked to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Starmer declined to say whether Andrew should voluntarily present himself to UK police. But he stressed that the rule of law must apply equally to all.

“One of the core principles in our system is that everybody is equal under the law and nobody is above the law,” he said. “It is a very important principle of our country and it has to apply in this case in the same way it would in any other case.”

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Police scrutiny follows the release in the United States of new documents connected to a trafficking investigation into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The files have renewed focus on Andrew’s past association with Epstein, who died in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Andrew has consistently and strongly denied any wrongdoing. According to the BBC, Thames Valley Police is assessing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew in 2010. The alleged encounter is said to have taken place at Royal Lodge in Windsor. The woman, who is not British, was in her twenties at the time.

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Her lawyer, Brad Edwards, told the BBC that after spending the night with Andrew, the woman claims she was given tea and shown around Buckingham Palace.

Separately, Thames Valley Police is also examining whether there are grounds to investigate Andrew for suspected misconduct in public office and breach of official secrets.
Starmer said decisions about any voluntary engagement with police were for investigators, not politicians. “They will conduct their own investigations,” he said.

He added that if Members of Parliament wished to debate Andrew’s links to Epstein, he “would not stand in the way”.

The latest tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice includes further references to Andrew and details of correspondence between him and Epstein. Some of the material suggests Andrew shared official and commercial information with the disgraced financier.

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Nine police forces across the UK have confirmed they are assessing whether to open investigations into matters connected to Epstein. The Metropolitan Police said it has begun initial inquiries into separate allegations relating to close protection officers who were once assigned to Andrew.

In a statement, the force said it had “not identified any wrongdoing” but was seeking to establish the facts.

In his BBC interview, Starmer also repeated his view that anyone with relevant information should testify before US Congress. “Anybody who has any information should testify,” he said. “Whether it is Andrew or anybody else, anybody who has got relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is.”