PRINCE Andrew faces calls for an investigation by the Met Police now he has settled his rape case – even as the force insists it will not open a probe.
UK cops have been accused of showing favour to the Duke of York as they have decided once again to not investigate the alleged rape of Virginia Giuffre when she was just 17.
Andrew suddenly settled the lawsuit brought against him by his accuser earlier this week despite previously vowing to take the case to a jury trial and fight to clear his name.
He has always strongly denied all allegations against thim.
But despite his bluster, the Duke settled to the tune of around £12million and issued a statement expressing his “regret” over his association with paedo multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
He then hailed Virginia’s “bravery” and pledged to help “fight against the evils of sex trafficking”.
However, calls are now growing for the Met Police to investigate the case for the first time since Virginia first went public with the shocking allegations in 2011.
Cops have insisted there is “no change” on their position not to investigate – saying they have reviewed all evidence handed to them and there will be no further action.
Mark Williams-Thomas, an ex-cop turned investigative journalist who helped expose Jimmy Savile, told The Celeb Report Online that the Met has “failed in its duty” to investigate Andrew.
“The police need to investigate, pass the information on the CPS and then they make a decision,” the former detective said.
“So the police to say they act without ‘fear or favour’ – no they don’t, there is clear favour being shown to Prince Andrew.
“The Met Police should clearly be investigating it, there is an allegation of criminality here with some substance to it.”
The Met are believed to have examined allegations by Ms Giuffre at least three times since 2015.
Despite a number of reviews of avaliable evidence, a full investigation has never been opened into Andrew.
Dr Ann Olivarius, a senior partner at law firm McAllister Olivarius, told The Celeb Report Online that decision not to investigate Andrew is just the latest issue for the Met.
It comes after the departure of embattled Met chief Cressida Dick who presided over failures such as the murder of Sarah Everard and the uncovering of vile cops’ WhatsApp chats.
“With all the other [problems] for the Met – Prince Andrew is just one of many,” Dr Olivarius told The Celeb Report Online.
“Why haven’t they looked at it? Why have they ignored it? And will they now be allowed to be let loose to do it?”
Andrew reportedly agreed to never again deny that he raped Virginia as part of the court settlement which was suddenly announced on Tuesday.
The lawsuit was the first time he was due to face the courts over his allegations – and he was set to be deposed next month.
He is said to have settled the case after pressure from The Queen.
Nigel Cawthorne, a royal author who was penned books on Epstein, Ghislaine and Andrew, told The Celeb Report Online: “Its amazing with Cressida Dick, after the Sarah Everard case she promised the Met would be scrupulous about sexual abuse cases and the protection of women.
“But clearly Virginia Giuffre doesn’t count.”
Elsewhere, Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor for north west England, tweeted: “Remember Met Police received Virginia Giuffre’s allegation in 2015, decided it wasn’t worth investigating then, again in 2019 and 2021 because there was ‘no case to answer’ in the UK.
“Prince Andrew said he would cooperate with an FBI investigation, he didn’t.
“So back to Met Police.”
Andrew is also facing pressure to finally cooperate with an understood to be ongoing FBI investigation in the states.
It has now been 825 days as of publication since Andrew told Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis he would testify or give a statement under oath over Epstein’s crimes.
And yet he has still not spoken to law enforcement in the US after he was reportedly named as a “person of interest” last August in the ongoing investigation into Epstein and Maxwell.
FBI agents are believed to want his help as a witness in the ongoing probe into the wider crimes of Maxwell and Epstein.
His accusers’ legal team argued she was a “frightened, vulnerable child
Andrew faced civil litigation for the first time over the allegations in the 15-page lawsuit which was first filed in 2021.
His accusers legal team argued she was a “frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her” when she was allegedly abused by Andrew, saying “no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law”.
She claimed she feared for her life when she was allegedly forced to have sex with Andrew, who is accused of having been aware of her age and status as a “sex-trafficking victim”.
Court documents claimed Ms Giuffre was “lent out for sexual purposes” by convicted sex offender Epstein including while she was still a minor under US law.
Andrew had consistently denied the allegations, and had previously said he had “no recollection” of ever meeting Virginia.
He also said he has no memory of the well-known photograph of him with his arm around Ms Giuffre’s waist at Maxwell’s house, and has questioned whether it was his own hand in the image.
The fallout from his car crash Newsnight interview saw the royal criticised for showing a lack of empathy towards Epstein’s victims and a lack of remorse over his friendship with disgraced financier.
Epstein hanged himself in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking offences.
And meanwhile Maxwell faces potentially spending the rest of her life in prison after she was convicted her role in the scheme.
A spokesman for the Met Police told The Celeb Report Online they had nothing to add to previous statements on the case.
Prince Andrew’s representatives declined to comment when approached by The Celeb Report Online.
