Police have confirmed that an assessment into allegations that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor committed misconduct in a public office, which will be carried out with the Crown Prosecution Service, "to determine whether a criminal offence is suspected and whether a full investigation is required."

Thames Valley Police Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: "We can confirm today (11/2) that Thames Valley Police is leading the ongoing assessment of allegations relating to misconduct in public office. This specifically relates to documents within the United States Department of Justice’s Epstein Files.

"As part of this assessment, we have engaged in discussions with Specialist Crown Prosecutors from the CPS. We will provide updates as and when they are available, but at this stage it would be inappropriate to discuss further specifics of this work."

"During an assessment phase, information is evaluated to determine whether a criminal offence is suspected and whether a full investigation is required.

"Allegations of misconduct in public office involve particular complexities, and therefore an assessment must be conducted carefully and thoroughly.

"While we cannot provide timescales over when a decision as to whether a criminal investigation will be opened, we can assure you that Thames Valley Police is making progress as quickly as possible."

At this stage, however, police have not confirmed that a criminal investigation has been launched.

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