By Michael Holden and Sam Tabahriti
London — King Charles’ younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to Jeffrey Epstein.
UK police have a general practice of not publicly naming suspects but they gave details that identified the former prince, who has been under investigation over allegations that he had passed documents to the late convicted sex offender while working as a trade envoy.
Thames Valley Police, which said earlier this month that it was looking into the allegations, said a man in his 60s has been arrested and is now in custody.
“Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office,” Thames Valley’s assistant chief constable Oliver Wright said in a statement.
“It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence. We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”
The former prince, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, who was celebrating his 66th birthday on Thursday, has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has said he regrets their friendship.
But he has not responded to requests for comment since the latest mass release of documents by the US government. There was no immediate comment from Buckingham Palace. Mountbatten-Windsor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Being arrested does not infer he is guilty of any crime.
Other allegations
Mountbatten-Windsor was reported to police by the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic following the release of more than 3-million pages of documents relating to Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
Those files suggested that in 2010, Mountbatten-Windsor had forwarded reports about Vietnam, Singapore and other places he had visited on official trips, to Epstein.
The misconduct investigation is not the only accusation against Mountbatten-Windsor into which police are looking. Republic has also reported him over allegations he was involved in the trafficking of a woman to Britain for sex in 2010. Thames Valley Police said it is assessing allegations that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor, where the former prince lived until recently.
Former UK prime minister Gordon Brown has also called for a police investigation into the extent of Epstein trafficking women without proper checks by the authorities through London’s Stansted Airport, saying this was overlooked by previous inquiries into Mountbatten-Windsor.
Essex police said on Wednesday it is looking into the issue.
