Police probe claims Andrew asked cop to help dig dirt on teen sex accuser

King forced to effectively banish' his brother

- RUSSELL MYERS

Now police are probing claims the prince tried to smear the woman who accused him of having sex with her when she was 17 and was controlled by billionaire paedophile Epstein.

Andrew has always denied the claims. But in 2011, before the infamous image of him with Ms Giuffre first appeared, he allegedly asked a royal protection officer to check up on Ms Giuffre using her date of birth and social security number.

He told Ed Perkins, Queen Elizabeth's deputy press secretary, that he had asked one of the Met's elite SO14 Royalty Protection Group to dig for information about Ms Giuffre.

"It would also seem she has a criminal record in the [United] States," Andrew emailed to Mr Perkins.

There is no suggestion that the officer named in the email agreed to the prince's request. The family of Ms Giuffre, who took her own life in April aged 41, say she did not have a criminal record and want to know how Andrew came about her confidential private information.

The Met Police confirmed they are actively looking into the claims.

Andrew was summoned by the King to explain why further accusations of impropriety had emerged, six years after he attempted to clear his name on BBC's Newsnight.