UK government to release papers related to former Prince Andrew’s appointment as trade envoy
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LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government is set on Thursday to release confidential papers related to the former Prince Andrew’s appointment as trade envoy, just months after lawmakers accused the king’s brother of putting his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein ahead of the nation.
Lawmakers approved a motion in February demanding publication of the documents after the one-time prince, now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested on charges related to allegations that he shared government reports with Epstein while he was trade envoy.
The move followed the U.S. Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of documents related to Epstein. Those files showed how the wealthy financier used an international web of rich, powerful friends to gain influence and sexually exploit young women and girls.
Nowhere has the fallout from the document release been felt more strongly than in the U.K., where the scandal has raised questions about the way power is wielded by the aristocracy, senior politicians and influential businessmen, known collectively as “the Establishment.”
During the parliamentary debate on Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Epstein, government ministers and other lawmakers demanded more accountability from the royal family.
Trade Minister Chris Bryant said Mountbatten-Windsor was engaged in a constant “self-enriching hustle’’ during his time as a working member of the royal family.
Mountbatten-Windsor was a “rude, arrogant and entitled man who could not distinguish between the public interest, which he said he served, and his own private interest,” Bryant said at the time.
Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal title last year as King Charles III tried to insulate the monarchy from the growing fallout from the Epstein scandal. The former prince served as a special envoy for international trade from 2001 to 2011, when he was forced to give up the role because of concerns about his links to questionable figures in Libya and Azerbaijan.
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This version corrects that the release is set to happen Thursday, not Wednesday.