MPs 'could open investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's work as trade envoy next week' as calls grow for criminal probe into claims he 'abused his position'
MPs could begin investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's work as trade envoy from next week - amid mounting calls for a criminal probe into the disgraced royal.
Labour MP Liam Byrne, chairman of the cross-party Business and Trade Committee, today said 'nothing is off the table' as the former Duke of York faces fresh allegations.
Mr Byrne told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'MPs are not in the market for letting anything slip through the cracks.'
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal title as Prince Andrew following revelations about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The ex-Duke has been accused of abusing his position during his time as UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
Lawyers have suggested he could face prosecution for a 'great many' offences because of the Epstein Files including sex trafficking, sexual exploitation and even prostitution - but police are yet to turn up in Sandringham where he has now moved.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has denied wrongdoing in relation to allegations of sexual misconduct. He has not responded to requests for comment on the allegations about his role as envoy.
Files released in the US relating to the late paedophile billionaire Epstein reveal Mr Mountbatten-Windsor passed on to him a confidential Treasury briefing on Iceland's financial crisis.
Andrew features a number of times in the Epstein files, including images apparently showing him crouching over an unidentified woman in what appears to be Epstein's New York mansion
The former Duke of York, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, is pictured here in January 2026 riding near Windsor Castle in Berkshire - ahead of his move to Sandringham
He also forwarded messages about taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland - and the King's brother allowed Epstein to organise meetings for him during an official trade mission to China.
Now MPs could intervene, according to Mr Byrne, who said today: 'The committee's not had a chance to reflect on these allegations because recess means Parliament isn't sitting this week.
'My task this week is to make sure that the committee's got options in front of them when they meet on Tuesday for how we might or might not take this investigation forward. Obviously, we can't and don't want to compromise a police investigation.
'We've got quite strict rules about sub judice and getting involved in things that may come before the courts, but this is obviously a matter of huge concern, and I'm going to make sure that my committee has got the full options available for how we take our investigations forward when they convene next Tuesday morning.'
Mr Byrne said he did not want to 'pre judge where the committee is going to go on this at this stage' when asked on the Today programme whether it could potentially ask to speak to the former prince.
He added: 'At this stage, all I can say is, nothing is off the table.
'This is something we're going to take acutely seriously and I can guarantee you that MPs are not in the market for letting anything slip through the cracks.
'My job as the chair is to make sure that the options are on the table in front of them when we consider it next week when Parliament resumes.'
Pictured: Andrew enjoying a ride on a bamboo river raft in China in a photo released in the Epstein Files. Emails show he allowed Jeffrey Epstein to organise meetings for him in China
Marcus Johnstone, a leading criminal defence lawyer specialising in sex crime, previously said this week the former prince could be investigated over allegations he allowed sex trafficking victims into Buckingham Palace.
Police will be looking for evidence proving Andrew 'knowingly facilitated their exploitation', he said.
Detectives could also investigate Andrew for the offence of misconduct in public office when he was a UK trade envoy.
There are now claims a woman who could have been a trafficking victim was flown in on Jeffrey Epstein's 'Lolita Express' and smuggled into the Palace to see Andrew using the codename 'Mrs Windsor'.
Mr Johnstone said: 'Andrew could technically face action for a great many alleged sexual offences, including sex trafficking, sexual exploitation or even prostitution legislation - though much of this depends on what he knew and what can be proven he knew beyond all reasonable doubt.
'It may not even be beyond the realms of possibility that a Royal Palace was used as a brothel, but proving this is a much more challenging task entirely'.
Epstein's Boeing 727–100 private jet, which he used to host orgies and traffic girls, landed around 90 times in the UK - including after his conviction for child sex offences in 2008, the Epstein Files reveal.
At least one Epstein victim was allegedly flown into Britain on board and then taken to Andrew at Buckingham Palace.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, pictured in Windsor before he went to ground in Sandringham, is facing calls to speak to the police - and now MPs could begin an investigation next week
The disgraced former Duke of York allegedly told aides: 'Mrs Windsor will arrive shortly, please let her in and show her up' while a former police protection officer said they were 'not allowed' to know their names.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of all his royal titles last October after a leaked email published by the Mail on Sunday proved he lied in his interview with BBC's Newsnight when he claimed he 'never had any contact' with Epstein after they were pictured together in New York in December 2010.
Buckingham Palace announced last October Andrew would no longer be known as a prince and would leave Royal Lodge in Windsor – instead taking up residence on the family's Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
King Charles stripped his brother of titles after weeks of pressure to act over Andrew's relationship with Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019 aged 66.
Andrew had earlier that month said he would no longer use the Duke of York title following revelations about his friendship with Epstein and renewed sexual abuse allegations by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre in her posthumously published memoir.
The Mail on Sunday revealed how Andrew tried to involve the Metropolitan Police and one of Queen Elizabeth's most senior aides in a campaign to smear Ms Giuffre, who had accused him of assaulting her as a teenager.
An email exposed how Andrew asked his taxpayer–funded police bodyguard to investigate the 'lying' young woman.
The prince is said to have passed on details of her date of birth and social security number, thought to have been given to him by Epstein.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor passed on details he learned from meetings with bank executives in the wake of its £45billion state bailout, documents show
He also claimed Virginia, who took her own life earlier this year, had criminal convictions, a claim which has not been backed up by any evidence or confirmed by police and has been strongly denied by her family.
An earlier email exposé proved that Andrew lied to Buckingham Palace and the British public when he claimed he had cut off all contact with his close friend in December 2010, following Epstein's release from prison on child–sex charges.
Twelve weeks later, he emailed the sex offender financier to say they were 'in this together' and expressed his wish to 'play some more soon'.
Ms Giuffre, who died by suicide in April 2025, alleged she was forced to have sex three times with Andrew, which he vehemently denies, including when she was 17 and also during an orgy, after she was trafficked by Epstein.
Andrew paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with her in 2022, though insisted he had never met her.
The Mail On Sunday revealed this week how he passed on details he learned from meetings with bank executives in the wake of the Royal Bank of Scotland's £45billion state bailout, shown by documents released by the US Department of Justice.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor revealed information about RBS shake-up plans and, without foundation, alleged that experts overseeing the bank were privately critical of its chief executive.
He also passed on information about Aston Martin, including claims of internal tensions amid a slump in sales.
Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in a photo reportedly taken in 2001, when Giuffre was 17 years old
Thames Valley Police is facing growing calls to open an investigation into allegations he leaked confidential reports to Epstein while trade envoy.
Former business secretary Vince Cable accused Mr Mountbatten-Windsor of 'dreadful, cynical behaviour' adding that the police and Director of Public Prosecutions would have to judge whether 'criminal misconduct' had taken place.
And City expert Ian Fraser, whose book Shredded detailed the near-collapse of RBS, said: 'Why the hell did Andrew consider it appropriate to glean potentially market-sensitive information about the state-rescued bank RBS from private meetings and then leak this to contacts he clearly wished to impress?'
Emails show that the King's brother allowed Epstein to organise meetings for him during an official trade mission to China.
Photographs also show him socialising with a Chinese model during the 2010 trip.
Also among the 3million documents in the Epstein Files is an email exchange from July 2010 between Mr Mountbatten-Windsor and Terence Allen, an investment banker in the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Allen said there was ‘clearly’ a 'bunch of assets for sale' at RBS, adding: 'We are looking at some of their distressed real estate for our clients.'
His message came as RBS bosses were engaged in a huge 'fire sale' after it was rescued by the Government in 2008.
Replying to Mr Allen, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor said he had been told by an RBS executive that RBS-owned private bank Drummonds would ‘be reviewed’ and become ‘more integrated’ with Royal bankers Coutts.
The ex-prince also revealed that chief executive Sir Stephen Hester was not thinking of selling a stake in RBS’s 'subsidiary brands' because he had 'more important things to worry about'.
The former duke forwarded his emails to his adviser David Stern, a German-born businessman, who in turn sent them on to Epstein.
Andrew also suggested that UK Financial Investments, the organisation overseeing RBS, was privately critical of the way the bank was being run, saying Sir Stephen 'isn't all that well thought of'.
His memo to Mr Allen, again forwarded by Mr Stern to Epstein, also claimed Mr Mountbatten-Windsor had been ‘kept in the picture’ about Aston Martin, claiming there were 'conflicts between internal parties' and tensions between management and its Kuwaiti owners.
The car maker said it had no evidence in its records of Andrew having had any direct contact with its executives. NatWest Group has declined to comment.
