The Metropolitan Police is investigating claims that close protection officers assigned to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor 'wilfully ignored' incidents during visits to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.
LBC has interviewed a former senior Met protection officer who alleges that certain members of the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command (RaSP) became "too close" to the Royal Family and "may have withheld information" from the force about activities on Little Saint James island, owned by Epstein, in the US Virgin Islands.
Several women have alleged they were abused by Epstein when they were teenagers on Little Saint James, known to locals as "pedophile island.”
Andrew, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, was stripped of his Royal title last year following the posthumous release of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, in which she claimed she had sex with Andrew on Epstein’s private island.
The former protection officer alleged that Andrew’s protection team accompanied him to the private island on at least two occasions, including one instance on Epstein’s private jet.
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In an exclusive interview, the former officer, whose identity is protected, told LBC: “The big question for me is what Andrew’s protection team witnessed on Epstein Island.
“I’m not suggesting they definitely witnessed any criminality from Andrew, but there was concern that certain members of the royal protection team wilfully ignored what was happening on the island.”
The Met states that the force is investigating specific allegations concerning members of the RaSP team.
The former protection officer said that members of the Royal Protection Unit were “terrified” to report the behavior of any Royal Family members, as officers who had filed reports in the past were removed from RaSP and “reassigned to uniform” as punishment.
He said: “There were genuine concerns that for a certain period, in the late 90s and early 2000s, the royalty protection team became too close to their principals.
“Due to the nature of the job, royalty protection officers were often assigned to the same principal for many years, so it’s no surprise they became close.
“But I certainly think that a line was crossed to the extent that we were worried that information was being withheld from the police. They seemed more loyal to the Royal Family than to the Met - and that’s wrong.
“We used to say they were ‘more royal than the Royals.’ Some of them started wearing signet rings and acting more like members of the Royal Family than police officers. They seemed to get lost in that life.
“The Royalty Unit was terrified of reporting any questionable behavior from the Royals. There were instances where an officer reported a royal’s behavior and the next day they were removed from the unit and put back in uniform.”
Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police stated they are reviewing claims that Epstein provided Andrew with a woman for sex at the Royal Lodge in 2010.
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The force is also “assessing” allegations published in the Epstein Files that Andrew shared confidential material with Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy from 2001 to 2011.
King Charles has said he would support the police investigation.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police stated: "Protection officers are held to the same high standards of professional conduct as all police officers.
“At this time, we have not identified any wrongdoing by any protection officers regarding these matters. However, initial inquiries into these specific allegations have commenced to establish the facts.
“We encourage any former officers with relevant information to come forward. Should any new allegations arise, they will be assessed as usual. This includes any misconduct or criminal matters. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further while other inquiries related to these matters are ongoing.”
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