No investigation has been launched after Prince Andrew was among scores of people named as associates of Jeffrey Epstein in court papers unsealed by a US court, the Met Police have said.
The newly unsealed court documents name dozens of Epstein’s associates, although many of them are not accused of any wrongdoing.
In one document, a woman named Johanna Sjoberg claimed, while giving testimony in May 2016, that the Duke of York had touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire’s Manhattan apartment in 2001.
Buckingham Palace has previously said the allegations are “categorically untrue”.
After the documents were unsealed, Republic, a pressure group calling for the abolition of the monarchy, reported Prince Andrew to the police.
The group’s chief executive, Graham Smith, urged the Met to open an investigation – and called on the King to make a public statement on the matter.
Mr Smith said: “To date, there appears to have been no serious criminal investigation, no interview of the accused or other witnesses, and no clear justification for taking no action.”
A statement by the Met said: “We are aware of the release of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein.
“As with any matter, should new and relevant information be brought to our attention we will assess it.
“No investigation has been launched.”
Epstein, a disgraced financier, had been accused of abusing underage girls as young as 14. In 2019, he was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of helping recruit and groom teenagers for Epstein to molest.
Prince Andrew has strenuously denied all allegations against him in the past.
In 2022, he settled a civil case out of court with Virginia Giuffre after she claimed she was sexually assaulted by the prince when she was 17 years old.
That settlement, which was reported to be as much as £12m, carried no admission of guilt.
Buckingham Palace, which no longer speaks on behalf of the duke after he stepped down as a working royal in 2019 over his friendship with Epstein, has not commented on the documents.
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Source : Sky News
