Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has declared that individuals possessing relevant information should be prepared to disclose it, following news that the former Prince Andrew has ignored a request to testify in an American investigation into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
PM's Stance on Information Sharing
While travelling to the Johannesburg G20 summit, Sir Keir was pressed by reporters on whether the former royal should assist the US probe. The Prime Minister declined to comment specifically on Andrew's case, but firmly established his general principle. "I don’t comment on his particular case," Starmer stated. "But as a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it."
When pressed further on whether this applied to the Duke of York, the Labour leader responded, "In the end that will be a decision for him. But my general position is, if you have relevant information you should be prepared to share it."
Mounting Pressure from US Legislators
This political commentary comes as American legislators have publicly criticised Andrew for his 'silence'. Members of the House Oversight Committee had requested a 'transcribed interview' with the former prince in connection with his 'long-standing friendship' with Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. After receiving no response from Andrew's camp, Democrats Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam accused him of hiding from their inquiries.
Andrew's Fall from Grace and Ongoing Allegations
The pressure from the US investigation compounds a dramatic fall from grace for Andrew. Earlier this month, he was stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles by his brother, King Charles, due to what was described as 'serious lapses of judgment' concerning his association with Epstein.
This royal banishment was accelerated by two key events:
- The US government's release of documents from Epstein’s estate.
- The publication of the posthumous memoirs of the late Virginia Giuffre.
Giuffre had accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager, allegations he has consistently denied. In a separate development, The Metropolitan Police is examining claims that Andrew passed Ms Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard back in 2011 and asked for an investigation. Andrew continues to deny any wrongdoing.
