News24 | UK finds no evidence for Epstein-linked ex-Prince Andrew’s trade role due diligence

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is seen being driven away from a police station following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.

• There was no evidence of due diligence to appoint Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy.
• The former prince was the first member of the British royal family to be arrested in more than three centuries.
• Mountbatten-Windsor served as the ‌UK’s ⁠Special Representative for International Trade and Investment between 2001 and 2011.

The British government on Thursday published historic documents on the 2001 appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy, saying ‌it found no evidence that formal due diligence or security vetting was carried out at the time.

The government agreed to release the documents after an opposition party used a rare parliamentary device to request the ⁠publication of files about the appointment of Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of Britain’s King Charles.

“We have found no evidence that a formal due diligence or vetting process was undertaken. There is also no evidence that this was considered,” Chris Bryant, a junior trade minister, said in a written statement to parliament.

Mountbatten-Windsor, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, served as the ‌UK’s ⁠Special Representative for International Trade and Investment between 2001 and 2011 in a role that allowed him to travel the world meeting senior business and government figures in the unpaid role.

Formerly ⁠known as Prince Andrew, Mountbatten-Windsor was the first member of the British royal family to be arrested in more than three centuries, earlier ⁠this year, when he was questioned by officers on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

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He has always denied ⁠any wrongdoing in relation to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and said he regrets their friendship.

AFP reported that UK police on Tuesday said they were investigating two claims of historical child sexual abuse in Britain that emerged in files about Epstein.

Police in Surrey, southeastern England, said they were “investigating two separate allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse” following the release of the Epstein files.

The force said it was looking for ways “to verify information or establish corroborating evidence”.

One of the claims involves the southern English counties of Surrey and Berkshire near London in the mid-1990s to 2000 and the other refers to another area of west Surrey in the mid- to late 1980s, police said.

Police said they had no further information and had not arrested anyone.