Officers from nine different UK police forces have joined the investigation into allegations of wrongdoing by the king's brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson.
According to The Times, the investigation follows the release by the US Department of Justice of millions of documents related to the case of American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is accused of paedophilia.
Among the agencies involved is Thames Valley Police, which is investigating allegations that Prince Andrew passed confidential information to Epstein, as well as a separate complaint of sexual exploitation. Next up is Surrey Police, which is investigating allegations of sexual assaults between 1994 and 1996 that were mentioned in Epstein's file. Scotland Yard is investigating reports that its officers who guarded and escorted Mountbatten-Windsor during his visit to the financier's private Caribbean island turned a blind eye to what was happening there.
The police forces in the English counties where Epstein's private jet landed are located have joined the investigation. They include West Midlands Police (Birmingham Airport), Essex Police (Stansted Airport), Bedfordshire Police (Luton Airport) and Police Scotland (Edinburgh Airport). According to British media reports, the interest in these airports is due to the possibility that girls were brought into the UK through them for subsequent sexual exploitation.
Previously, former British Prime Minister (2007-2010) Gordon Brown wrote in an article for the New Statesman that, according to the published Epstein dossier, the businessman's private jet landed and took off from British airports 90 times, including 15 flights after his conviction in 2008. Therefore, Brown called on British police to urgently re-analyze information about the trafficking of women and girls into the country for exploitation.
Norfolk Police is another police force that is reviewing information from Epstein's files. The royal Sandringham estate is located in the territory of Norfolk County Police. It is mentioned several times in US Justice Department documents as a meeting place for then-Prince Andrew, Epstein and his assistant Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the US.
Scotland Yard is simultaneously conducting a criminal investigation into Mandelson, who is suspected of providing confidential information to the British government to Epstein. Wiltshire Police is also involved in a similar investigation.
All law enforcement officers from different counties and regions are brought together in a coordination group, led by the National Police Chiefs' Council. They are assisted by the National Crime Agency.