British Politician Says 'Andrew Does Clearly Have Questions to Answer' Amid Epstein Case
Reform UK chief says it is 'clearly' necessary for the royal to face questioning despite calling it 'painful.'
Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of sexual abuse and child sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said it would be ‘painful’ to see a senior royal questioned by police, but insisted that discomfort cannot stand in the way of accountability. Pressed on whether the former Duke of York should face police questioning, Farage did not hesitate. “Clearly, clearly,” he replied. “[It’s] painful to say it about a member of the Royal Family, but clearly.” He added that, in his view, the controversy surrounding Epstein has only intensified rather than subsided. “So yeah, the Epstein case has lifted the lid. There are now more questions than there were before the files were released. Andrew does clearly have questions to answer, I'm afraid. Sadly.”
Farage’s intervention comes amid fresh attention on court documents and correspondence contained within the so-called Epstein Files. Among the most striking claims are emails suggesting the former Duke of York had 'consensual sex' with Virginia Giuffre. This claim cuts directly against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s longstanding and categorical denial of any sexual contact with her.
In a December 2014 Florida court filing, Giuffre alleged she had been trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on at least three occasions in 2001, when she was 17. Ex-Prince Andrew has repeatedly rejected those allegations and reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms. Giuffre in 2022 without admitting liability. The issue resurfaced again following the publication of Ms. Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, released nearly six months after she took her own life. In the book, she accused Mountbatten-Windsor of being “entitled—as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright.”
While acknowledging the sensitivity of calling for action against a member of the monarchy, he suggested that other political figures also warrant closer examination. “I'm also quite keen to know more about Peter Mandelson's links with Russia. [I'm] very keen to know more about that as well,” he said.
Asked specifically about alleged connections between Mandelson and Russia, Farage told LBC, “There is, without question, deep concerns about his relationship with Russian oligarchs and serious questions about the links between Epstein and Russia. You know, some of the allegations that Mandelson passed on, essentially inside information to Epstein. Was he passing that on to Russians? Lots of questions about how Epstein grew his wealth so quickly. Was he essentially a front for Russians? We don't know. All of this stuff has got to be looked into."
“I'm concerned about essentially, the Labour Party's links in particular also to the constant kowtowing to China, and we've got this review going on at the moment by Rycroft and they've got to look at the deep links between the Chinese Communist regime and this Labour Party and this Labour government.”
Farage was speaking on Tuesday as he unveiled what he described as a “shadow cabinet,” positioning Reform UK as the principal opposition to Labour.
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