‘Very Likely’ UK Govt Will Decide if Prince Andrew Must Answer Questions Over Jeffrey Epstein
Aleading extradition lawyer has told Sky News it is “very likely” the UK government and the Home Office will play some part in deciding if and when Prince Andrew talks to authorities in the US about Jeffrey Epstein.
At the moment the Duke of York won’t and can’t be extradited because authorities in the US only want to talk to him as a witness regarding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But last month it was reported that prosecutors had submitted a mutual legal assistance request (MLA) asking the Home Office for their assistance to speak to Prince Andrew.
Karen Todner, who dealt with attempts to extradite computer hacker Gary McKinnon and alleged hacker Lauri Love to the US, told Sky News an MLA makes it virtually impossible for the UK government and Home Office to avoid the ongoing battle with Prince Andrew and they will inevitably be involved.
Home office guidelines say the department will not confirm or deny the existance of an MLA.
She said: “From my understanding the Americans are not happy about Prince Andrew giving a prepared statement, that’s not what they want from him, they want to have the opportunity to ask him questions and for him to be under oath when he does that.”
She added: “Prince Andrew doesn’t have diplomatic immunity so if the process has started it will follow through. There are various reasons that the UK authorities would have to look at to show that the mutual legal assistance request was valid, that it was asked for the right reasons, but I can’t see any issues with that at the moment.”