A source close to Prince Andrew says it is “no surprise” that Britain’s Metropolitan police has ignored “media pressure” and will drop their inquiries into the prince’s alleged sexual assault of Virginia Giuffre.
In what could be construed a major breakthrough for Andrew’s efforts to clear his name, the London police force told The Daily Beast that they would be taking “no further action” against Andrew, having concluded a review of “a document released in August 2021 as part of a U.S. civil action.”
In response to the news, a source close to Andrew told The Daily Beast: “It comes as no surprise that the Met Police have confirmed that, having reviewed the sex assault claims against the duke for a third time, they are taking no further action. Despite pressure from the media and claims of new evidence, the Met have concluded that the claims are not sufficient to warrant any further investigation. The duke has always vigorously maintained his innocence and continues to do so.”
The development is certainly a welcome break for Andrew who has endured a weekend in which he was publicly attacked, ridiculed and smeared by a plentiful cast of royal insiders to the media. Courtiers and government sources lined up to pour contempt on the prince, with one military source who has dealt with Andrew describing him to The Sunday Times as a “total dickhead.”
Scotland Yard said it “continues to liaise with other law enforcement agencies who lead the investigation into matters related to Jeffrey Epstein.”
The police inquiries into Andrew’s involvement with Epstein go back to 2015 when, they said, they were “contacted by representatives of a person who made allegations of non-recent trafficking for sexual exploitation against a U.S. national, Jeffrey Epstein and a British woman relating to events outside of the U.K. and an allegation of trafficking to central London in March 2001.”
The “British woman” mentioned is believed to be Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now in jail awaiting trial in the U.S.
The cops said they did not pursue the allegations at that time because “it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the U.K.”
A decision not to proceed to “a full criminal investigation” was made and was subsequently “reviewed following the death of Jeffrey Epstein in August 2019.”
The statement did not confirm reports this weekend that officers had contacted Giuffre again this year after she filed her civil lawsuit against Andrew, only saying that they had reviewed the document that was part of the U.S. civil case and “information passed to us by a media organisation in June 2021.”
The statement added: “This review is complete and no further action will be taken.”
Source by www.thedailybeast.com
