The Metropolitan police are looking into claims that Prince Andrew asked his taxpayer-funded close protection officer to uncover information about Virginia Giuffre hours before the emergence of a bombshell picture of them together.
Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, told broadcasters the allegations should be investigated as it was “absolutely not the way that close protection officers should be used”.
Giuffre’s family has renewed calls for Charles to strip Andrew of his “prince” title.
“The royal family will have to make its own decisions about what other steps can be taken,” he said.
“I think the royal family have said that they didn’t want to take up parliamentary time with this.
Prince Andrew allegedly asked his taxpayer-funded close protection officer to find out information about Virginia Giuffre just hours before a shocking photo of the two of them surfaced. The Metropolitan police are investigating these claims.
A government minister said on Sunday that leaked emails that allegedly showed Andrew had given his Met bodyguard Giuffre’s birthdate and private US social security number were “deeply concerning.”.
According to broadcasters, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, stated that the claims should be looked into because they were “completely inappropriate.”.
Andrew allegedly asked one of his close protection officers to gather information about Giuffre in 2011, according to messages published by The Mail on Sunday. Ed Perkins was the queen’s deputy press secretary at the time.
The messages state that Andrew informed Perkins that he had provided the officer with Giuffre’s birthdate and private nine-digit SSN and that she had a criminal history in the United States. Hours before the notorious photo of Andrew with 17-year-old Giuffre was made public, the email was sent.
According to her family, she had no criminal history. There is no indication that the policeman followed the instructions.
“We are aware of media reporting and are actively looking into the claims made,” a Metropolitan police spokesperson stated. “”.
In her suicide earlier this year, Giuffre claimed that Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her and forced her to have sex with Andrew three times, including when she was 17.
Due to his close ties to Epstein—including reports this past weekend that he met a second victim of the paedophile financier—Andrew is coming under increasing pressure.
He had already lost the right to use his HRH title and had stopped being a “working royal,” so on Friday he gave up his royal titles, including Duke of York. Additionally, his ex-wife has renounced her title; she will now be known as Sarah Ferguson rather than the Duchess of York. The princess title will remain in the hands of the couple’s daughters.
“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further,” Andrew said, referring to his decision that he had made following talks with the king. As a result, I will no longer use my title or the honors that I have been given. As previously stated, I vehemently refute the charges made against me. He has not responded to the most recent accusations.
It would require a parliamentary act to remove the dukedom, which Andrew keeps. He will always be a prince because he is the son of a monarch; the king would have to issue a letter patent to alter this.
The family of Giuffre has reiterated their demands that Andrew’s “prince” title be revoked by Charles. Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, stated on BBC Two’s Newsnight on Friday that he would like the king to go one step further and “take out the prince in the Andrew,” but that his sister would have been “very proud” of the most recent development involving Prince Andrew.
“I believe that everyone involved ought to bear some responsibility and accountability for these survivors,” he stated.
“The government will be guided by the royals,” Miliband said when asked if he would support such legislation. He declared, “The royal family will have to decide for itself what else can be done.”. “I believe the royal family stated that they didn’t want to burden the time of parliament with this. Parliament is debating a wide range of other topics. “”.
Last week, an excerpt from Giuffre’s posthumous memoir was released by The Guardian. In it, she described her initial meeting with the “entitled” prince and how he “thought having sex with me was his birthright.”.
