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The British government feared it would be sued by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor if it made him face questioning in the US over Jeffrey Epstein, bombshell new documents have revealed. According to emails in the Epstein Files, officials at the Home Office voiced concerns that the former prince could launch legal action at the High Court if they helped the FBI summon the former Duke to testify.

During the 2020 US investigation into the paedophile financier, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor repeatedly declined requests to give a voluntary interview. His lawyers insisted that he would provide only a signed written statement and refused to travel to the US or appear via video link. This led the Department of Justice (DoJ) to submit a formal demand - known as a mutual legal assistance (MLA) request - to the Home Office, asking them to compel him to speak to him.

However, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor never spoke to prosecutors and has thus far never assisted the FBI in its Epstein probe. Now, new emails may help explain why the DoJ's efforts failed.

Civil servants in Whitehall were concerned that Blackfords - the law firm representing Mr Mountbatten-Windsor - might contest any assistance offered to US authorities through the British courts, emails suggest.

According to The Sun, the document states: "They [The UK Home Office] expect that once they approve the MLA and refer it to the police that the Blackfords will file a judicial review action.

"In that action, they believe Blackfords will claim that the Home Office failed to follow its internal guidelines on reserving MLA assistance to those instances in which voluntary cooperation is not possible.

"Blackfords will argue that since they have offered voluntary cooperation as recently as early June, the Home Office failed to properly apply its internal guidelines, and the court should direct the Home Office to vacate its approval of the MLA request and send it back to the US to engage on a voluntary basis with the Prince's team."

The fears expressed by the British authorities appeared to confuse the American side, who fumed: "All we want to do is ask some questions," it has been reported.

The US Attorney who led the investigation into Epstein in New York has since claimed that British authorities protected the former prince during his probe. Geoffrey Berman wrote in his 2022 book: "We got absolutely nowhere. Were they protecting him? I presume someone was".

Following his widely criticised Newsnight interview in November 2019, Andrew withdrew from public duties, and in 2025 he formally relinquished the title of "Prince". In February, he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with Epstein, though he has not been charged.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the victims of Epstein, who have lived with unimaginable trauma, and this government will do everything in its power to ensure accountability is delivered."