Inquiry into Andrew’s Epstein links not ruled out as police searches continue

Police searches of Windsor" class="entity-link entity-person" data-entity-id="1300" data-entity-type="person">Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home on the Windsor estate in Berkshire continued on Sunday as a government minister did not rule out having a judge-led inquiry into the former prince’s links with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, representing the government, did not rule out such an inquiry but said it was premature because of the police investigation.A senior Conservative MP, the former security minister Tom Tugendhat, said Mountbatten-Windsor should face a parliamentary treason investigation over his links with the disgraced financier.Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office.He was detained and questioned at a police station for 11 hours concerning allegations he had shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.A number of public figures have called for a wider investigation into his past dealings with Epstein. Many have also called for Mountbatten-Windsor, who remains eighth in line to the throne, to be dropped from the line of succession.Royal sources have indicated that King Charles would not stand in the way of parliament if it wanted to ensure Mountbatten-Windsor could never ascend to the throne.Asked by Trevor Phillips on Sky News when there would be legislation to drop the former prince, Phillipson said: “We are not ruling anything out around this but we have obviously got a live police investigation under way so we’ll not be setting out further steps until the police have been able to do their work.”A police officer walks next to a press photographer near the royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk, on Sunday. Photograph: Martin Pope/Getty ImagesOn the question of a judge-led inquiry, Phillipson said: “We’ll look at any sensible proposals that do come forward. But it’s premature at the moment, because we do have the police doing their work.“They need to have the time and space to do so. As the king set out, no one is above the law and it’s right that the police go wherever the evidence takes them, so that has to be the focus at the moment.”Phillipson said more needed to be done to stamp out violence against women and girls.“What we’re seeing here is, sadly, nothing new,” she said. “We don’t listen to women who come forward and report abuse. We don’t believe victims and survivors, and sadly, we’ve lived in a world and in a society where even when people do come forward, action hasn’t followed through the criminal justice system.”The search by Thames Valley police of Mountbatten-Windsor’s former mansion home, Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, began on Thursday and continued on Sunday. It is expected to be completed on Monday.Separately, the Metropolitan police said it was identifying and contacting officers who served as protection officers to Mountbatten-Windsor over the years.“They have been asked to consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard during that period of service may be relevant to our ongoing reviews and to share any information that could assist us,” a spokesperson for the Met said.A former head of royal protection, Dai Davies, told Sky News it was “inconceivable” that Mountbatten-Windsor’s former guards would not have information.“They would have gone to all the five residences we’ve been talking about … in the United States Virgin Islands, New Mexico and Florida. It’s inconceivable to me, I’m sad to say, that nobody saw anything.”He called for a judge-led inquiry, telling the People newspaper: “For too long the establishment has taken us, the public, for fools. The truth, warts and all, must come out.”Tugendhat said a special committee of MPs, peers and retired judges should be set up to investigate the links to Epstein of both Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson.He told the Sun on Sunday: “This affair raises urgent questions about foreign influence and national security. What did the Palace know? What did ministers know? What else is being hidden?“This goes beyond what a court could reasonably consider. Parliament must consider what it means for the country. If the worst is proved, do we need to revisit treason laws written 700 years ago?”There is widespread agreement that the escalating crisis could have far-reaching implications for the institution of the monarchy and the Commonwealth.The royal author and historian Andrew Morton told Sky News that one benchmark for royal crises was set by the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936 but that was over in nine days.“This crisis, I think, outdoes the lot because there is no end in sight. There’s no cut-off point … this will rumble on for years,” Morton said.Both the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK have said they would back moves to drop Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession.The striking photograph of Windsor" class="entity-link entity-person" data-entity-id="1300" data-entity-type="person">Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after his arrest was hung in the Louvre by activists. Photograph: Nicolas Coupe/ReutersThe Lib Dem leader, Sir Ed Davey, said it would be “intolerable” for the former prince to succeed to the throne and that the scenario was “not as remote as some people think”.Nothing has been seen of Mountbatten-Windsor since he was pictured slumped in the back of a Range Rover as it left Aylsham police station in Norfolk on Thursday evening.After his younger brother’s arrest, the king said in a statement that “the law must take its course” and the police had “our full and wholehearted support and cooperation”.The wider royal family have continued to conduct their duties as normal. Anne, the princess royal, on Friday visited a crisp factory in Sheffield. On Monday, as past master of the Worshipful Company of Butchers, she is scheduled to attend the City Food and Drink lecture at the Guildhall in London.The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the Baftas on Sunday. William said he had yet to see Hamnet, which won the Bafta for outstanding British film.“I need to be in quite a calm state and I’m not at the moment,” he told Elaine Bedell, chief executive of the Southbank Centre, and Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT Group. “I will save it.”Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing over his links to Epstein but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.On Sunday, activists hung the photograph of Mountbatten-Windsor after his arrest – taken by Reuters photographer Phil Noble – in the Louvre museum in Paris.The UK-based anti-billionaire group Everyone Hates Elon, which has staged many subversive stunts, mounted the photo on a wall of the French museum and titled it He’s Sweating Now.