[0:00]We begin with an arrest in the UK that reaches all the way to the royal family. Police have arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III and former prince,
[0:11]of course. He's suspected of passing sensitive documents to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Once a prince,
[0:21]now an ostracized member of the British royal family, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is the first in the monarchy's modern history to be arrested. British police are investigating
[0:33]allegations that he was passing on confidential government documents to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein back in 2010 when he was serving as the UK special trade envoy.
[0:45]Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that laws must apply regardless of status. One of the core principles um in our system is that everybody
[0:56]is equal under the law and nobody is above the law. And I think it is really important that that is applied across the board. Buckingham Palace released a statement from King Charles. He has pledged to
[1:08]fully support the police investigation. A recent release of millions of documents related to the Epstein files put Andrew back in the spotlight.
[1:20]Despite pictures showing him in compromising positions with what many believe are some of Epstein's sex trafficking victims. Andrew Mountbatten has repeatedly denied
[1:31]any wrongdoing. His most outspoken accuser, Virginia Giuffre, claimed that Andrew assaulted her on three occasions when she was just 17 years old.
[1:43]Giuffre committed suicide last year. Her family have released a statement thanking the British police. But many Britons are skeptical that
[1:53]justice in Andrew's case will be served. Um I think it's only because the public probably put pressure on and the the media's put pressure on to
[2:04]uh have him questioned. But he'll probably disappear to some country where he won't be extradited. I
[2:15]thought he'd go into hiding and get away with it. Yes, so you know, that's all I've got to say really. I'm pleased. Honestly, nothing's going to happen to him really if you think about it. You know, he's fully protected by his
[2:27]family. I don't want to say too much into it. Um but hopefully he gets what he deserves. Concerns about Mountbatten-Windsor's links to the late financier have dogged
[2:37]the royal family for more than a decade. And this unprecedented arrest of the king's brother is likely to put more pressure on the crown.
[2:49]For more on this, let's bring in Christopher Wilson, who's an author, journalist, and royal historian. Welcome to DW. Now, what more do we know at this point about the allegations and the evidence against Andrew?
[3:00]I think that unquestionably there will have been a huge body of evidence gathered beforehand. The police and particularly politicians behind them would not allow
[3:12]an intrusion of this kind and arrest to take place unless they're pretty certain that they've got a watertight case against Andrew. So I think that we will
[3:23]probably see him in a criminal court despite what one of the people were saying just a moment ago. I don't think he'll escape. I think he will stay and face the music.
[3:34]And if he does go to court, I think what will really happen what what is going to be most extraordinary it will be a sensation. No member of the royal family
[3:44]has been arrested for 600 years. And the last person to do that was King Charles I who had his head chopped off once they'd
[3:54]actually finished with him in court. So, I can't see that happening to former Prince Andrew,
[4:03]but he certainly faces a bleak future in this year coming. Did you see this coming at all? Um,
[4:14]the British establishment has been so scared of the royal family. They never want to set the royal family. Everybody, whether they're a policeman, a
[4:23]politician, a cabinet minister, anybody in public life, they all want to get invited to Buckingham Palace. They want to get invited back again. So,
[4:34]nobody really ever wants to cross the royal family. They're fearful of the royal family. So, it does come as a surprise that finally the worm has turned and that the police have realized they've
[4:45]got to do something. And that comes, I think, from the prime minister himself. He is really de facto in charge of the police. I think he's seen the way the
[4:55]public opinion has turned very much against the royal family. It's a crisis for them and I think he's seen that something's got to be done to lance the boil. Yeah.
[5:07]Now, we need to be very clear. This is not about sexual misconduct. It's about sensitive information he allegedly passed to Jeffrey Epstein while the trade envoy.
[5:17]Why would he have done that? What kind of information do you think was passed back and forth there? Well, I think it was a a trade-off, but you know, he is generally considered to
[5:27]be rather a dim man and not very clever. And I think it wouldn't be very difficult for somebody quite as sophisticated as
[5:37]Jeffrey Epstein to encourage him to part with what is basically state secrets. That is a form of treason, which is what
[5:47]his forebear King Charles I was accused of and lost his life as a result. Um it's the nearest thing. We don't have a treason law in this country anymore or
[5:57]operative one. And um [clears throat] he himself has clearly overstepped the mark. We just don't know quite how it's going to
[6:08]turn out today, whether he will be charged today or whether they will send him away and charge him later. Yeah. Um just give us briefly a sense of the impact this could have on the rest of
[6:18]the royal family. Well, I I really see this as a very grave situation, which could lead to
[6:28]lead to a great constitutional crisis because the royal family know a great deal more than they've ever said about Prince Andrew's or ex-Prince Andrew's
[6:39]private activities. Uh and not only they, but also cabinet ministers and even prime ministers, particularly
[6:48]during the period 2000 to 2010 when he was representing the United Kingdom abroad. Uh they know of things which have not come out. And so,
[7:00]if he goes to court, if the evidence comes out, it's also going to implicate any number of other people in the British establishment. And I do see
[7:09]uh ahead a very grave constitutional crisis in Britain. That's royal historian Christopher Wilson. Thanks for your insights. Well, I'm joined now from London by
[7:23]Deborah Bonetti. She's director of the Foreign Press Association and she's the UK correspondent for the Italian daily national newspaper Il Giornale. Deborah, it's good to have you with us. Let me
[7:34]just ask you, can you explain to our viewers, why is this story such a big story, so important for the rest of the world? I mean, what do your editors in Italy, for example, what do they say
[7:44]about this event? Well, first of all, thanks for having me, Brett. Um, it is a huge, huge story. It's momentous. This is almost
[7:56]unprecedented. We had to go back to the 17th century to see another uh member of the royal family being arrested, and that was Charles the first. But, definitely in living memory, this has
[8:07]never, ever happened before. Um, it looks momentous, especially because of Andrew's standing. Uh,
[8:17]you know, he is well known for being a very royal prince, even though he can no longer use his title. He's very well known for being very arrogant and very
[8:28]full of his own importance. So, for him to be arrested, not just questioned under caution, this is an arrest. Um, it
[8:39]is much more serious. We've had, after pushing and pushing all morning, we've had uh finally um a declaration, a
[8:48]statement from the king, uh who doesn't even refer to him as his own brother. He refers to him in the statement as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, like he's some kind
[8:59]of person um he barely knows, and who says uh he's deeply concerned and that the law should take its course.
[9:09]Um, so, this was unexpected. From what I understand, uh and from what everybody understands here in Britain is that the um the Buckingham Palace and the royal
[9:20]family were not previously told by the police that this was going to happen. Of course, today is is Andrew's 66th birthday. So, this is um momentous in
[9:31]many ways, and also possibly the worst uh birthday present anybody has ever received. >> Yeah, I'm sure that he will prefer to forget this birthday. You mentioning the
[9:42]the king referring to his own brother basically in the third person. And that is that's not by accident, is it? I mean, he has to know that the future,
[9:53]the survival of the monarchy it could be put into question by the events that are now unfolding. Is that how you see it as well?
[10:04]Absolutely. With my director of the Foreign Press Association, we're putting on a briefing tomorrow morning with the head of the Republic UK movement, which as you know
[10:15]is a movement that has been calling for the abolition of the monarchy for many many years. And they feel that it it's it's a moment
[10:25]it's a turning point. Will this mud stick to the monarch? Will they have to completely review
[10:37]the way that the monarchy is behaves in this country? Will it be will it have to be in the future closer to Scandinavian monarchies?
[10:47]Will it survive all together because obviously as you as you intimated the king will have known
[10:57]that something was under hold. The king in his defense we know has always discouraged the decision that Andrew
[11:05]should become a trade envoy for the UK. His words were not heeded because of course the the queen really wanted
[11:15]Andrew to do it apparently we all know that Andrew was her favorite child. And the questions Deborah, are you still with us?
[11:30]>> Yes. Okay, I'm sorry. We we >> Yes, I I can still hear you. Yes. Yes, I yeah, you froze for just a moment. I just want to ask you before we run out of time. You know, we're seeing the the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein case in
[11:41]the UK with the royal families. Also, there's been talk about um political fallout, too, even going all the way up to the prime minister. Um does it strike you that we're seeing all
[11:52]this fallout in the UK from the Epstein scandal and practically no fallout politically in the United States where
[12:01]this scandal is based? It is It is shocking. Um I cannot speak for what goes on in the
[12:11]US. Um everything seems to be completely in disarray um there. Thankfully here in the UK, uh there is still um a
[12:22]functioning democracy, I would say. And um I do not understand how this cannot be taken further there. Um but definitely the Epstein files haven't haven't
[12:33][clears throat] given up the ghost yet. I think this is a story that will keep on rolling and taking down important, hugely important um
[12:43]people um along the way. So, uh for the US, let's let's see if it really is um as it is or if there are some some big coup coming [clears throat] from there
[12:55]as well. But definitely today is a massive day for the UK and for the the future of the monarchy. Yeah. Deborah Bonetti, Deborah, we appreciate you taking the time to talk with us and
[13:06]putting all of this into context. Thank you. Thank you. All right, for more now, I want to bring in Caleb Wheeler. He's a senior lecturer
[13:17]in law at Cardiff University. He specializes in international criminal and international public law. It's good to have you with us. We just heard from
[13:26]the prime Minister that um no one is above the law, but there's lots of skepticism um in the UK this evening that anything
[13:37]will happen or that anything will happen to Andrew at all. How likely do you think it is that he will be held accountable by the law? Uh thank you, Brent. Uh
[13:48]I I I think first of all, the the point that this Prime Minister makes that everyone is above the law is slightly misleading. Uh the king is above the law of the United Kingdom. Uh he's protected by sovereign immunity. His brother,
[13:59]however, is not. Uh despite being a prince, despite being the son of the queen, uh he is exposed to the he can be exposed to the criminal process. And I think it's very telling if you look at
[14:10]the comments that the crown has made over the last 10 days or so, you know, saying uh I think on the 9th of February uh they they they had the the police had their full support, and then saying
[14:21]today that the the criminal process had to uh uh run its course. It would seem to me they're signaling certainly that the crown doesn't intend to stand in the way.
[14:30]Yeah, I mean, they're also talking about Andrew in the third person, which which we know is a classic example of how to distance oneself or an institution from
[14:42]uh from a problem situation. And what does this mean for Andrew mov- moving forward? I- is he less protected now that he is no longer officially a royal?
[14:54]If he were still a a prince, um would he have some automatic protection there that he doesn't have now? Uh i- it's really hard to say under the law
[15:05]because we're in really fairly uncharted ground uh from from UK uh legal uh history. You know, you would have to go back to Charles the first,
[15:15]400 years ago, almost 400 years ago, to find uh the last time a British royal has been arrested. So, it would not appear that he has
[15:26]immunity, but this is not an issue as a result of his royal connection, but this isn't an issue that's been tested in law for a very long time. We know that the police have searched
[15:37]Andrew's homes. He's under investigation in the UK. What do we know about these allegations against him? And and is there any evidence? It's really very early to say at this
[15:51]point. I mean conduct misconduct in public office, you know, it really it involves there's an important connection that has to be made between the the act about which they're accused and the
[16:02]and and that it connects to the role in public. Without knowing more, it's hard to say. It would seem though that this doesn't connect to
[16:11]the sexual allegations against Andrew either by Virginia Giuffre or the second anonymous woman who's come forward. And then I base that on the idea that it's
[16:23]the Thames Valley police investigating this and it seems less likely that they would be involved if if this related to those particular incidents. I know this is the
[16:35]realm of speculation, but I think everyone around the world following this story is going to be asking themselves this. I mean, why would a former prince why would he
[16:46]have an incentive to pass sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender? I mean, what's the connection there? Why risk
[16:58]anything? You certainly are asking me to speculate to answer that question. I think that you know, and we could certainly ask the same question about Peter Mandelson and
[17:09]probably any number of other people. You know, it would appear that Jeffrey Epstein traded in power and he traded in influence and you know, people were attracted to that and they were
[17:19]attracted to the the possibility of you know, increasing their own power influence. Let me ask you this Caleb before we run out of time. The irony of the situation that we're
[17:30]seeing so much fallout in the UK for the Royals now but also possibly politically for for the Prime Minister perhaps because
[17:40]of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and yet in the United States where this scandal had its genesis. Um, we haven't seen much fallout. There's an irony that's
[17:50]screaming at us isn't there? Uh, there there absolutely is and I think that it shows about it says something about how power
[17:59]protects power and in some instances and I think it's very interesting that we see in this situation that you know, as you mentioned that the crown has distanced itself
[18:09]from Andrew both terms of you know, the language that they use but they've been doing this for months. So I mean it's been clear that this separation is is is desired and you know, there there seems to be an
[18:21]interest in accountability in this country that perhaps there's less of an appetite in the United States for it at the moment. Yeah, we will see if if that changes moving forward. Caleb Wheeler from
[18:32]Cardiff University. Caleb we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. Thank you. Thank you Brent.