Police could probe if Andrew used Royal Lodge as brothel

DETECTIVES investigating claims a woman was taken to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's home for "sexual purposes" could explore whether he used the royal property as a brothel.

- PAUL JEEVES

The suggestion by top criminal lawyer Marcus Johnstone comes as the Thames Valley force probes the 2010 visit.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also asked Met Police to investigate potential sex trafficking after uncovering evidence the jet owned by Mountbatten-Windsor's paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein landed in Britain about 90 times.

The lawyer said: "It may not be beyond the realms of possibility that a royal palace was used as a brothel."

Mr Johnstone, who has worked extensively on the grooming gangs scandals, said it would be extremely hard for officers to secure a conviction without "concrete evidence" from alleged victims.

But he added that if police did investigate further, it would mean considering that a royal property was used as a brothel while Queen Elizabeth II was still alive.

Queen

Virginia Giuffre, who claims Epstein trafficked her to London for sex with the former Duke of York when she was 17, died by suicide last year. The royal, 65, vigorously denies any wrongdoing.

Mr Johnstone said: "It is certainly possible the police will open a fresh investigation into Andrew, but this is unlikely to result in a prosecution or conviction in my view. This is mainly because there appears to be very little concrete evidence of criminal wrongdoing, despite such intense public and political pressure for action."

He called Ms Giuffre's allegations shocking but pointed out that "sex with a 17-year-old is legal in this country, provided that the sex was consensual or the accused had a reasonable belief that it was".