Emily Maitlis says US lawyers following 'all legal trails' to Mountbatten-Windsor

Emily Maitlis says lawyers in the United States are following "all legal trails" pointing to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. She gave the assessment to HELLO! at its Power List event on Wednesday at Mazarine in Mayfair, where she was asked about the latest developments in his cases. HELLO!

Maitlis interviewed Mountbatten-Windsor for BBC Newsnight, the BBC's nightly current-affairs programme, in 2019. That interview lasted 58 minutes. The backlash that followed led to him stepping down from royal duties that year, a step recorded again in later coverage of his position.

Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing. That denial has remained his position through each stage since the broadcast. It stands alongside the formal action taken over his status.

He lost his titles on 30 October. The Royal Family then changed its official website to reflect the loss. HELLO!

At the Mayfair event, Maitlis discussed his legal action against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in February. He was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the offence of wilful abuse of a public role. She said police search warrants in the case were found to be unlawful.

The American dimension was also raised. Mountbatten-Windsor has faced calls to give evidence under oath — that is, with a legal duty to tell the truth — before the US Congress about his links to Jeffrey Epstein. US House Oversight Committee member Suhas Subramanyam called on him to testify after the February arrest. Subramanyam and fellow committee member Robert Garcia later accused him of hiding after he did not respond to a letter seeking answers about the Epstein scandal.

Maitlis previously described the February arrest as shocking but symbolically powerful. The arrest drew attention in Britain and in Washington. It is now the reference point for both the police claim and the congressional requests.

She told HELLO! she is working on two further accounts of the wider story. One is a film with Channel 4 due out in December. The other is a narrative podcast for Global Studios about Epstein's ties to Britain. Maitlis now hosts The Newsagents podcast, a daily news and interview show.

In the original 2019 interview, Mountbatten-Windsor told her he had been left unable to sweat due to an "adrenaline overdose". The line was widely quoted at the time. It re-entered discussion when documents relating to the Epstein files received fresh attention earlier this year.

What makes this stand out for viewers is continuity. Maitlis asked the questions in 2019. Seven years on, she is still tracking where those questions led, in court, in Congress and on screen.