Pressure on Duke to speak to FBI without Home Office intervening
THE Government hopes the Duke of York will agree to speak directly to the FBI over his links to Ghislaine Maxwell without the need for ministers to intervene, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, is facing a diplomatic quandary after US prosecutors submitted a formal request for the Duke to speak to them about claims Ms Maxwell trafficked young women for sex for Jeffrey Epstein. Their request was made through the filing of a Mutual Legal Assistance to the Home Office, as part of an agreement allowing the US to seek help from the British authorities in a legal or criminal matter.
But it is now understood the Government is in favour of the stand-off between the Duke and the FBI being sorted out between the two parties, rather than by any ministerial intervention under a MLA.
The Duke had a long friendship with Epstein and stayed at his homes, including the financier’s mansion in New York and his home in the US Virgin Islands. Prosecutors believe he could have vital information as a witness rather than a suspect, although the Duke insists he never saw nor suspected any wrongdoing during the times he stayed at Epstein’s homes.
As a potential witness the Duke cannot be compelled to talk to the FBI, but the matter threatens to become deeply embarrassing for the Home Office following the submission of the MLA.
Andrew Campbell-Tiech QC, head of Drystone Chambers and an extradition expert, said: “I’m sure the Home Office would rather the two parties deal with it themselves without any ministerial involvement.
“The last thing they want is to find themselves caught between the Royal family on one side and the US authorities on the other. They do not want to navigate through that.”
Ms Maxwell is accused of lying about Epstein’s sexual activities, including the recruitment of underage girls for sexual massages. The perjury allegations are the only charges brought against Ms Maxwell to date that relate to a period of time when the Duke
knew Epstein. The more serious offences of child sex trafficking and grooming are alleged to have taken place between 1994 and 1997, two years before the Duke was introduced to the paedophile.
The alleged offences against one of the victims took place in London between 1994 and 1995, when she was under the age of 18.
Campaign groups and lawyers representing victims of sex abuse have now called on the Metropolitan Police to mount its own investigation into the London allegations rather than just defer to American investigators.
Harriet Wistrich, founder of the Centre for Women’s Justice, said: “If there are offences that took place in London and the Metropolitan Police’s area then they should investigate them, if that is what the victims want.”
Scotland Yard said it had liaised with other law enforcement organisations but had not received a formal request asking for assistance in connection with the allegations. US prosecutors said they would “welcome” the Duke’s testimony as part of the FBI investigation, with Audrey Strauss, the acting US attorney for the Southern District for New York, urging the Duke to come forward to be questioned.
The Duke’s lawyers say they twice contacted the US Department of Justice in the past month but received no response. A source close to the Duke’s team said: “We’ve been in contact with the US Department of Justice saying we’re willing to offer assistance.”
Last night Laura Goldman, a close friend of Ms Maxwell, claimed the socialite urged the Duke not to do the “car crash” BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis in which he tried to defend his ties to Epstein.
Ms Goldman said Ms Maxwell thought the interview was “terrible” and marked “the beginning of the end”.
“She told him not to talk to the press,” Ms Goldman told the Sunday Mirror.
“She told him it won’t do any good … but he ignored her.”