Andrew's Met protection told to guard Epstein dinner in New York - The Times

Metropolitan Police officers were instructed to provide security for a celebrity dinner party at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home, according to newly released emails.

Two royal protection officers from Scotland Yard appear to have been told by Epstein’s staff to guard the door of the Manhattan townhouse as guests, including Woody Allen, attended the dinner in honour of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 2010.

The suggestion that Met officers in effect acted as bouncers for the convicted paedophile will be acutely embarrassing for Britain’s biggest police force, which has failed for many years to charge anyone in connection with the Epstein scandal. It is also likely to raise further questions about the leadership of Peter Loughborough, the former head of the Met’s royal protection squad who is now one of the King’s most senior aides.

The disclosure follows claims that taxpayer-funded bodyguards got too close to Andrew, 66, and may have “turned a blind eye” to indiscretions or potential criminality.

Andrew was arrested on Thursday at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has previously denied all wrongdoing.

The investigation into claims that Andrew leaked sensitive information to Epstein while acting as a UK trade envoy is being led by a different force, Thames Valley police.

In other developments:

The activities of Andrew’s personal protection officers during his 2010 trip to New York came under scrutiny a fortnight ago when The Sunday Times revealed that two of his bodyguards stayed with him at Epstein’s mansion for more than a week. One of the officers, Julian Phillips, appears to have been given security codes to the premises to allow him and his colleague to enter at will.

Andrew told BBC Newsnight in 2019 that he had travelled to New York solely to “cut ties” with Epstein. He was photographed with the financier in Central Park during the visit.

The trip, however, lasted at least eight days, and emails released by the US Department of Justice show that Epstein personally offered to accommodate Andrew’s protection officers at the property on 71st Street.

The house, which featured a massage room with paintings of naked women, is thought to have been the scene of sex crimes over the years.

Four days into the visit, on December 2, Epstein threw a lavish dinner party for Andrew. The guests included Allen, the Hollywood director, and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, as well as two US news anchors, Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos, the comedian Chelsea Handler, and Charlie Rose, a talk show host. Sir Mick Jagger was also invited, but was unable to attend.

In an email sent the night before the gathering, an unidentified member of staff wrote to Epstein: “The Duke’s 2 protection officers along with state security will all be here for tomorrow’s dinner party … Rich has given them instructions on the door. Do you wish [sic] Rich to stay for the party or is it ok for him to go home?”

The reference to “state security” indicates that US diplomatic protection officers also attended. “Rich” could be Richard Barnett, Epstein’s chief engineer and security fixer. The email’s subject heading was: “Security for party.”

On Friday, the Met said that it was contacting all Andrew’s former protection officers to establish whether they may have witnessed any potential wrongdoing. The force said: “They have been asked to consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard … may be relevant to our ongoing reviews.”

This followed claims by a former senior protection officer that Met bodyguards accompanied Andrew to Little Saint James, Epstein’s Caribbean island, on at least two occasions. On one of these, in 1999, an officer flew on Epstein’s private jet. The former officer told LBC Radio that the bodyguards may have “wilfully turned a blind eye” to what took place on the island.

Paul Page, a former royal protection officer who has complained about Andrew bringing women to Buckingham Palace in the 1990s without sufficient security checks, claimed in The Times that he had been “told to keep quiet” by the Met.

Loughborough, 67, was in charge of the Met’s royalty and diplomatic protection department from 2003 to 2014. The hereditary peer, also known as the 7th Earl of Rosslyn, serves as lord steward of the royal household and personal secretary to the King and Queen. He has previously declined to comment.

Last week Gordon Brown revealed that he had written to UK police forces providing “new and additional information” from the Epstein files.

The former prime minister also asked officers to interview officials at several government departments, including the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office, about Andrew’s potential use of taxpayer-funded RAF jets and airbases to meet Epstein, the Telegraph reported.

Brown is concerned that flight records released in the Epstein files show a plane carrying Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and an unnamed “female” landed at RAF Marham in Norfolk in December 2000, the newspaper reported. Epstein and Maxwell then stayed at Sandringham as guests of the former Duke.

A spokesman for the MoD told the Telegraph it was “standard practice” for private or commercial aircraft to use RAF airfields, “subject to fees which cover all costs”, and that use is subject to approval.

As parliament returns from recess, MPs are expected to push for a debate on Andrew in the Commons, subject to guidance on what is permissible while police proceedings are active.

Tom Tugendhat, the Tory former security minister, suggested a special committee of MPs, peers and retired judges should investigate Epstein’s links to Andrew and Lord Mandelson.

“This goes beyond what a court could reasonably consider.” he told the Sun on Sunday. “Parliament must consider what it means for the country. If the worst is proved, do we need to revisit treason laws written 700 years ago?”

The Liberal Democrats are also considering using their opposition day on Tuesday “to secure more transparency and parliamentary scrutiny around Andrew and his role as trade envoy”.

Separately, the business and trade committee are expected to meet on Tuesday to consider launching a probe into the role of UK trade envoys, initially skirting around Andrew to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings.