Prince Andrew 'free to end travel ban' after bombshell FBI decision over Epstein
Prince Andrew may be planning a trip abroad "as he will feel it's safe to travel" after the FBI ended its probe over his links to Jeffrey Epstein, says a friend of the duke.
The royal, 65, has been permanently staying at Royal Lodge in Windsor for the past six years reportedly out of a fear of arrest if he left the UK. But with the FBI announcing it has officially ended its investigation into his links to Epstein, it means that there is no risk of a case being brought against him.
Investigators have concluded that no charges will be brought against the Duke of York or any other high-profile associate of the disgraced financier.
The decision, which comes after years of speculation and mounting political pressure, follows a comprehensive internal review ordered by the Trump-appointed leadership of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the FBI. And it is just weeks after Elon Musk named Donald Trump as being identified in the infamous 'Epstein files'.
Andrew was accused of sexual abuse by Epstein's 'teenage sex slave', Virginia Giuffre, an allegation he vehemently denied. But he stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after his friendship with Epstein came to light.
And now the royal who has previously been dubbed 'air miles Andy' - could soon feel able to travel. A friend, reported The Sun, said: "He has been abroad once since the scandal erupted. But without the FBI investigation hanging over his head he will feel it's safe to travel.
They added: "He has always been very nervous about going abroad and felt he'd always be looking over his shoulder as he could be subject to civil action or at worst, being arrested. Hopefully with this out of the way it means he can at least leave the country.
'What's he supposed to do with the rest of his life? He hasn't been convicted of any crime and can't sit around doing nothing at Royal Lodge forever.'
Meanwhile, royal biographer Nigel Cawthorne said Andrew would be able to breathe a sigh of relief at the news, having never been charged. "He's off the hook isn't he. The whole thing's run out of steam," he told Newsweek.
According to a new two-page memo from the FBI, investigators "did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties." It added that 'perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither justice nor the victims,' and says that one of the government's highest priorities remains 'combatting child exploitation and bringing justice to victims.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
15 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Troop deployment plans abandoned in latest Coalition of the Willing talks
Britain and Europe have sidelined plans to deploy thousands of troops to Ukraine because Donald Trump's attempts to negotiate an end to the war have failed, The Telegraph can disclose. The ' Coalition of the Willing ' will concentrate future discussions on sustaining Kyiv in a war of attrition against Russia's invading forces in an apparent softening of plans. The group, hastily set up by Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron earlier this year, was created with the intention to arrange a European-led ground force to police any ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. At a meeting called to coincide with the French president's state visit to Britain, dozens of world leaders will instead discuss plans to ramp up ammunition supplies and boost Ukraine's domestic defence industry. Rebuilding Ukraine's energy production and post-war reconstruction of its war-stricken cities will also be discussed, according to a draft agenda shared with The Telegraph. The decision to change the group's approach comes after months of failed attempts by the US President to convince Vladimir Putin to sign up to a truce. A diplomatic source told the Telegraph: 'Given that Trump's strategy has not yet yielded any results, the ceasefire is still too far away to discuss how to secure it. 'What we need now is to continue to supply arms to Ukraine so that it can defend itself and, hand in hand with that, to continue to pressure Russia to start serious negotiations.' Europeans hope that continuing to demonstrate their support for Ukraine will convince Putin to come to the negotiating table. Trump funds weapons after U-turn Mr Trump has also appeared to have had a change of heart after signalling he was 'not happy' with Putin for ignoring his demands for a ceasefire. The US president said he would send more 'defensive weapons' to Kyiv, reversing a decision from days earlier to pause shipments. But Mr Trump has said he would help fund Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine after becoming angry over Russia's drone and missile barrages on Ukrainian cities. He said: 'We're going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. 'They are getting hit very hard now.' The Pentagon last week put weapon shipments, including surface-to-air missiles and artillery shells, on pause as part of a review over its own stockpiles. Lack of US security guarantee The talks on Thursday, via videolink, will be the first time the Coalition of the Willing has come together since March. Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to join the call from Rome, where he is attending the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference. The decision to all but end talks over a European-led troop deployment will come as a blow to the Ukrainian president, who has been calling for robust security guarantees from his allies. Talks over the prospect of boots on the ground largely collapsed because of limited troop pledges and a refusal by Mr Trump to offer US security guarantees to European militaries stationed in the war-torn country. A source familiar with the discussions said: 'Some realism has broken out. 'It could have duplicated existing Nato and other mechanisms, but it all fell on the issue of the US backstop and limited troop pledges.' Plans previously watered down The original plans for a large scale troop deployment to protect Ukraine's cities, ports and nuclear power plants had already been watered down to moving Western training missions back to the country. It was thought that the presence of British and French military trainers would fulfil the promise to put Western boots on the ground while not provoking Russia or putting Nato's plans to defend its eastern flank in jeopardy. Earlier this week, a French official told reporters: 'On the agenda, there's how to maintain Ukraine in a capacity to fight, how to increase pressure on Russia and how to continue the work on the next steps.' A readout of Sir Keir's latest call with Mr Zelensky said the Coalition would also debrief on the 'significant progress being made by military planners'. The Prime Minister told the Ukrainian president: 'The recent Russian attacks reinforced the need for Ukraine's friends and allies to focus both on ensuring Ukraine had the support it needed to defend itself, while also planning for a post-ceasefire future.'
NBC News
21 minutes ago
- NBC News
Trump will end deportation protections for thousands of Hondurans and Nicaraguans
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will terminate deportation protections for thousands of Hondurans and Nicaraguans living in the United States, according to U.S. government notices posted on Monday, part of President Donald Trump 's broad effort to strip legal status from migrants. The action, effective on September 6, will end Temporary Protected Status for an estimated 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans who have had access to the legal status since 1999, according to a pair of Federal Register notices. The Republican president has sought to end temporary legal status for hundreds of thousands of migrants in the United States, including some who have lived and worked in the country legally for decades. The Trump administration already had moved to end TPS for 348,000 Venezuelans and 521,000 Haitians, as well as thousands from Afghanistan and Cameroon. The administration has said deportation protections were overused in the past and that many migrants no longer merit protections. Democrats and advocates for the migrants have said that TPS enrollees could be forced to return to dangerous conditions and that U.S. employers depend on their labor. TPS provides deportation relief and work permits to people already in the United States if their home countries experience a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary his first term as president from 2017-2021, Trump sought to end most TPS enrollment, including the designations covering Honduras and Nicaragua, but his attempts were blocked by federal courts as unlawful. The initial TPS designations for Honduras and Nicaragua were based on destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch, which tore through Central America in 1998 and killed at least 10,000 people, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the termination notices that the countries had made significant recoveries, citing tourism in both countries, real estate investment in Honduras and the renewable energy sector in Nicaragua. 'Temporary Protected Status was designed to be just that — temporary,' Noem said in a statement. Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration renewed TPS for Honduras and Nicaragua in 2023, saying the effects of Hurricane Mitch still reverberated and that political instability, economic issues and damage from other storms warranted extending the protections. The U.S. State Department currently warns Americans to reconsider travel to Honduras due to crime and to Nicaragua due to the risk of wrongful detention and limited healthcare, while also raising concerns about crime. The Honduran government issued a state of emergency in 2022 that allows police to suspend constitutional rights in much of the country. The United Nations has accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega of repression after new constitutional reforms in effect this year expanded his powers. Antonio Garcia, the Honduran deputy foreign minister, said the U.S. decision reflected Trump's broader effort to end TPS and was not targeting Hondurans specifically.'It has happened to all countries ... and now us,' Garcia said. While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in May that the Trump administration could proceed with ending the status for Venezuelans, a federal judge last week blocked the termination for Haitians.
Economist
24 minutes ago
- Economist
Donald Trump's approach to Africa is very, well, African
IT IS EASY to make a case that Donald Trump cares little about Africa. On July 1st he closed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), absorbing an institution that spent 40% of its budget on sub-Saharan Africa into the State Department. That department and the White House have yet to fill their senior Africa-related posts. AFRICOM, America's military hub on the continent, speaks euphemistically of a new 'African-partner-led' approach to security. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which granted duty-free access to the American market for African exporters, expires on September 30th. Of the 19 countries subject to Mr Trump's latest travel ban, ten are African.
