Prince Andrew has been reported to the police by an anti-monarchy campaign group after allegations of sexual assault were made against him in unsealed court documents.
The Duke of York, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was reported to the Metropolitan Police by Republic after he was mentioned multiple times in files relating to disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The unredacted documents, which were released on Wednesday in the United States, included allegations Andrew had an orgy with underage girls and touched a woman’s breast while posing with a puppet of himself.
It is a fresh setback for the late Queen’s second son who, just 10 days ago, was pictured with the royal family on Christmas Day.
The 63-year-old prince, who has previously strenuously denied the allegations, paid millions a year ago to settle a civil case out of court with Virginia Giuffre with no admission of guilt after she accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
But he is mentioned more than 70 times in nearly 1,000 pages of interviews and transcripts released in the US in connection with a 2015 defamation case brought by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed for sex trafficking young girls for Epstein.
The names of more than 170 people who were either associates, friends or victims of Epstein are being made public following a judge’s order last month, including high-profile figures such as former US president Bill Clinton.
The Duke of York has been reported to the police by the campaign group Republic after allegations of sexual assault resurfaced in unsealed court documents.
Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic, said on Thursday that he had reported Andrew to the police, accusing the Met of failing to conduct a serious criminal investigation into the case.
The force said in August 2022 that it was taking no further action over allegations made against Epstein and that any future probes into human trafficking by the sex offender were focused on activities outside the UK.
It also previously said it stood by its 2015 decision not to investigate claims by Ms Giuffre that she was sex trafficked to London by Epstein.
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.
‘I am calling on the Met Police to reopen this case, I am calling on MPs to debate this affair in Parliament, and I am calling on Charles to make a public statement, in front of the press and taking questions, to respond to these allegations and what they say about the monarchy.
‘How can we not expect a response from the Government and head of state? At the time of the alleged offences, Andrew was a government trade ambassador and an active member of the royal family.
‘They fudged and obfuscated for 11 years before taking any definitive action.’
Mr Smith added: ‘The question many people will be asking is simple: if the accused were anyone else, do we believe they wouldn’t have been investigated and prosecuted?’
Meanwhile, US attorney Spencer Kuvin, who has represented some of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, said people associated with the wealthy financier such as Andrew, deserve a higher level of scrutiny.
Mr Kuvin told the Mirror: ‘Andrew still refuses to fully account for his time with Epstein and has failed to speak with US investigators about what he knows.
‘British police need to do their duty and reopen their investigation into his conduct.’
He added that Epstein is probably ‘one of the worst sexual predators of the century’.
