The brother of the British king, Andrew, stripped of his title of prince due to his links to the American financier Jeffrey Epstein, must give evidence in the US House of Representatives, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa.
“Ultimately it is a decision for him to make. But my general position is that if you have relevant information, you should be prepared to share it“, the British prime minister said, according to The Mail on Sunday.
Earlier, Democratic members of the House of Representatives issued a formal invitation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to give evidence as part of the investigation into his links to Epstein. The brother of the British monarch, Charles III, did not respond to the invitation from the US Congress.
In 2019, Prince Andrew was forced to step down from his official royal duties due to the Epstein scandal. This happened after the American Virginia Giuffre brought charges against him, claiming that he was among several men with whom she was forced to have sex when she was 17 years old.
In 2022, by decision of Queen Elizabeth II, the prince was deprived of his honorary military titles and patronage of several public organizations. On October 17, Prince Andrew announced that he would cease to use the title Duke of York. On October 30, Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would be stripped of his birth title of “prince“, amid new revelations about his friendship with Epstein.
For years, the prince denied Giuffre's allegations. However, after she sued him in the United States, the British king settled out of court, paying her compensation, which, according to media reports, reached 12 million British pounds (approximately 15 million dollars).
Epstein was arrested by law enforcement agencies in New York State on July 6, 2019. Prosecutors said they had evidence that between 2002 and 2005, he arranged visits to his Manhattan home for dozens of underage girls, the youngest of whom was 14 years old. Epstein's circle of friends and acquaintances included numerous current and former officials not only from the United States but also from many other countries (including former heads of state), prominent businessmen, and celebrities from the entertainment world. The criminal prosecution of the financier in the United States was dropped after his suicide in his prison cell on August 10, 2019.