Baroness Harman has mentioned Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest has heightened the necessity for him to testify to US politicians about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
It follows the previous prince being taken into custody by Thames Valley Police on Thursday – his birthday – over allegations of misconduct in a public workplace. He has beforehand denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
Talking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Harriet Harman mentioned: “I believe it additionally makes it much more vital that Prince Andrew agrees to go to present proof to Congress on the investigations that they are doing there.”
The US Congress has been publishing paperwork referring to deceased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein over current months, the so-called Epstein recordsdata.
In November, Democrats on the US Home Oversight Committee wrote to the previous prince, asking him to journey to Washington DC to testify earlier than them about his relationship with the disgraced financier.
This adopted Mountbatten-Windsor being stripped of his royal titles.
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Talking following his arrest, Baroness Harman instructed Sky Information: “Effectively, I believe it was inevitable as soon as there was began to be investigation on Peter Mandelson for leaking data, which was supposedly confidential authorities financial and business data, that if these emails appeared to indicate Prince Andrew when he was commerce envoy doing the very same factor, that he must be investigated and arrested as properly.”
Lord Mandelson stays below police investigation over allegations he leaked authorities data whereas serving as enterprise secretary – below then-PM Gordon Brown – one thing he denies.
Mountbatten-Windsor was appointed by the federal government as a commerce envoy in 2001. He held the position – which gave him had entry to senior ministers and enterprise contacts – for a decade, wherein time he travelled the world selling the UK.
Baroness Harman continued: “I believe that that is a fully unprecedented second of big implications as a result of I believe what’s occurred is that Epstein emails have damaged open the secrecy about how very wealthy, highly effective, and typically royal males behave.
“Do not forget that Andrew has been arrested by police who’re a part of His Majesty’s constabulary. These are the King’s police. If it had been to go to courtroom, it’s His Majesty’s courtroom. However because the prime minister mentioned, no person needs to be above the legislation.”
She mentioned the arrest would have “large implications” for the Royal Household.
Her podcast co-host, former Scottish Conservative chief Ruth Davidson, agreed, saying pictures of police vehicles arriving on the Sandringham Property in Norfolk to arrest Mountbatten-Windsor are the “type of footage you by no means thought you’d see”.
She added: “The human aspect of me is pondering, thank God the late queen did not reside to see this, as a result of it will have damaged her coronary heart.
“However then the form of, the rational aspect of my mind kicks in. Individuals who might have dedicated crimes – that we’re discovering out about by means of the Epstein trials being opened – ought to face that in the identical method.”
Ms Davidson added: “Even the investigations taking place now, none of them are touching on the basic query of why had been younger girls and ladies trafficked world wide to be abused by wealthy and highly effective males and why aren’t any wealthy and highly effective males being questioned about that component of any of this.”
