The Met Police will take no action against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after he asked one of their officers to dig up dirt on his teenage sex accuser.
A bombshell email obtained by the Mail On Sunday exposed how Andrew asked his taxpayer-funded Met bodyguard to find out information on Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and confidential social security number.
Central Specialist Crime Commander Ella Marriott said her officers had looked at the claims but not found any grounds for a criminal investigation.
In a statement today, she said: ‘Following recent reporting suggesting that Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked his Met Police close protection officer to carry out checks on Ms Giuffre in 2011, the MPS has carried out a further assessment.
‘This assessment has not revealed any additional evidence of criminal acts or misconduct. The Met remains committed to thoroughly assessing any new information that could assist in this matter.
‘To date, we have not received any additional evidence that would support reopening the investigation. In the absence of any further information, we will be taking no further action.
‘As with any other matter, should new and relevant information be brought to our attention, including any information resulting from the release of material in the US, we will assess it.’
The development will come as a relief to Andrew, who is facing fresh embarrassment after being pictured in the latest Epstein photo dump.
The new image – released yesterday by the US House Oversight Committee – showed Andrew and billionaire Bill Gates at a formal meeting, with both wearing business suits.
It emerged hours after Andrew and Sarah attended the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace for the christening of Athena, the second daughter of Princess Beatrice, 37, and her property developer husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 42.
Andrew lost his prince status and Duke of York title during the fallout from the Epstein scandal earlier this year.
In another major development in October, the MoS published an email that revealed he had tried to involve his protection officer in a smear campaign against Ms Giuffre in 2011.
Astonishingly, Andrew then told Ed Perkins, Queen Elizabeth’s deputy press secretary, that he had asked the officer – part of the Met’s elite SO14 Royalty Protection Group – to dig up information.
‘It would also seem she has a criminal record in the [United] States,’ he wrote. ‘I have given her DoB [date of birth] and social security number for investigation with XXX, the on duty ppo [personal protection officer].’
It is never suggested that the officer complied with the prince’s request, while Ms Giuffre’s family insisted she did not have a criminal record.
Details of the shocking email came after Andrew was forced to relinquish all of his remaining titles following new damaging revelations about his friendship with Epstein.
In a humiliating blow, Andrew is no longer known as the Duke of York and has stepped down from membership of the Order of the Garter, the country’s most ancient order of chivalry.
Ms Giuffre’s relatives previously said the email ‘exposes the lengths to which those implicated try to discredit and defame survivors.’
They added: ‘The truth will surface and there will be no shadows in which they can hide.
‘We also request a full investigation as to how Andrew obtained Virginia’s private information.’
Spencer Kuvin, a lawyer who represented nine of Epstein’s victims, said at the time: ‘Smearing a survivor is the oldest play in the handbook.
‘It is despicable that Andrew fails to take accountability for his actions. Hopefully the authorities will look into his actions and prosecute him for any laws he may have broken.’
David Boies, who represented Ms Giuffre, said: ‘At this point, I think Prince Andrew has suffered enough, but the Met Police owe Epstein’s victims an accounting.’
And solicitor Mark Stephens, an expert in data and privacy at law firm Howard Kennedy, said: ‘It seems to me that there are reasons to investigate whether a criminal conspiracy has occurred here and I suspect the public will want that investigation.’
Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, claimed that paedophile Epstein trafficked her to London and forced her to have sex with the prince – allegations Andrew has repeatedly and vehemently denied.
In a memoir, Ms Giuffre, who was abused by Epstein for four years, claimed that Andrew ‘believed having sex with me was his birthright’.
Andrew was pictured this morning enjoying a horse ride through Windsor Great Park.
