Ex guard, Paul Page tells what he saw at Buckingham Palace

THE INDEPENDENT 19 JANUARY 2022 - Paul Page: The former royal protection officer found guilty of fraud

The ex-guard for the royal family has shared his suspicions Ghislaine Maxwell may have had an intimate relationship with Prince Andrew

Paul Page worked at Buckingham Palace for six years, providing armed security for the Queen and the Royal Family.

In 2009 he was jailed following a £3 million property scam. He set up a sham company, tricking colleagues, friends and family into parting with their cash, savings and pension payouts.

The judge said the scheme was “breathtakingly dishonest, relentless and callous”.

The former Buckingham Palace royal protection officer returned to public eye on Tuesday night in an appearance in the ITV documentary, Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile, during which he described the access Ghislaine Maxwell had to the palace.

Last month Maxwell was found guilty of recruiting and trafficking young girls to be sexually abused by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking for the first time on TV, Page claimed he and his colleagues believed Maxwell might have been in a relationship with the Duke of York.

He said: “From the way she was allowed to enter and exit the palace, at will, we realised… suspected, that she may have had an intimate relationship with Prince Andrew.”

“A colleague of mine remembered her coming in four times in one day from the morning till the evening – she kept coming in and out, in and out…” he claimed.

Page, who says said he first met Maxwell in 2001, had access to Andrew’s private apartments.

He also made an unusual allegation about the Duke of York’s soft toy collection, saying the duke would throw a tantrum if his teddy bears were moved.

There were “about 50 or 60 stuffed toys” positioned on the bed in Prince Andrew’s apartment, Page alleged, saying a laminated diagram was kept in a drawer to help household staff arrange them correctly.

He said: “If those bears weren’t put back in the right order by the maids, he would shout and scream and become verbally abusive.”

Page used to work for the Metropolitan Police. He joined Essex Police in 1992, and moved to the Met three years later.

He transferred to the Royalty Protection Command in 1998.

His betting and property scam involved conning 57 victims over three years, including his own royal protection colleagues and their families and friends.

They thought they were investing in property – but Page was using their money to fund his growing gambling addiction, the court heard during his trial.

He distributed misleading leaflets and promised returns of up to 120%, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, he was using the money to splash out on luxuries and fund his gambling problem, the court heard.

But his get-rich-quick scheme began to unravel and he was sentenced to six years in jail.

The scam was described as a “major scandal under the Queen’s nose” – with the loss of multimillion fortunes, allegations of dealing steroids, porn, drunkenness on duty – and even death threats.

Victims told the court Page used a variety of excuses to avoid paying them back – from claiming his father had died to pretending a tarantula had infected his eye.

“It was sexual intercourse,” the judge said [4 Jan 2022], according to Newsweek reporter Jack Royston. “Involuntary sexual intercourse. There isn’t any doubt about what that means, at least not since someone else was in the White House.”

As anyone who has been in front of a Judge in a courtroom will know, the law may be interpreted one way by one court, and another way on appeal, and so on. Buckingham Palace will be well aware of that. With Queen Elizabeth II footing Andrew's legal bills, we are sure that Her Majesty is following progress of the case with much interest.

BALMORAL OR IMMORAL - You would be persuaded by this picture, that Epstein and Ms Maxwell, were good friends of the Duke. On the other hand, Prince Andrew was always entertaining big business, in promoting Great Britain Ltd. Much the same as Queen Elizabeth brokered foreign deals on HMY Britannia.

The Prince may not remember the 17 year old Virginia Roberts, but unless this photograph is a fake (doubtful - it must have been checked out) he did meet the young lady at some point - even if only posing at a drinks party, and Ghislaine Maxwell was at this meeting. One question we would ask is how do we know the age of the claimant from this picture? She could easily be 18 or older. Or she may have claimed to be over 18, for Ghislaine to have allowed Virginia to have been photographed with the Duke. No doubt, testimony from Ms Maxwell will clear that up. And where and when was the picture taken, and by whom? You can imagine that with US State laws varying, and this picture looking for all the world like London, where the age of consent is 16, the precise details relating to the taking of this picture are extremely important. It might be worth checking passports, etc. Not that we are saying anything did or did not happen between the Prince and Ms Roberts. For the sake of argument, if some did take place (that the Duke cannot recall) and it was in London, then no crime had been committed. You can marry a girl in Spain and Tahiti at 13 (we think). Hence, any prosecution would need to be very sure of dates and places to begin mounting an investigation. It would not be fair to even interview the Prince, until the facts had been established, for fear of trying to trick him into something he could not possibly remember.

We know of a case where penetration had been alleged during a police interview, but the evidence told only of natural marks and a hymen that could not be opened [even] with labial traction. During this interview, the police officer told the defendant that she had been penetrated, leaving the defendant believing that was true. When it was not, as we suspect the interviewing officer knew full well. It was an attempt at entrapment. A so-called child specialist gave evidence at trial, that the natural marks could only be explained by penetration. Legal Aid restrictions prevented the defendant in that case from instructing a specialist. Sussex police allowed the jury to hear misleading evidence, and the man was convicted on naturally occurring marks, found in females of all ages. British justice is such that despite other discrepancies being identified, such as a diary being attributed by the trial judge to the defendant, when it belonged to a psychiatric nurse, an appeal has never made it back to the Courts. Europe sent back a claim after 4 years, suggesting the wrongly convicted man had a domestic remedy. On that basis, good luck to anyone facing trial in the UK. At least you have unlimited funds for your legal team in the USA.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR CHANGE - Under the present system where the Head of State is a royal, and there is no written constitution, politicians like David Cameron and Boris Johnson can lie with impunity - even to Queen Elizabeth - and not face penalties. Police officers can shoot unarmed civilians and not be sent to prison, and planning officers can deceive the Secretaries of State and High Court judges, and not be prosecuted. In effect, it is alleged that there is little justice in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We aver that such machinations are costing the ordinary taxpayer, Treasury and the Crown (being the state) significant sums of money, while adding to the UK's carbon footprint. Hence, the country is not being run effectively by the at present; defective administration, not to serve its citizens, but to sustain and profit itself. Unlike the US Constitution of 1791 that exists to serve the people. Some people advocate abolition of the honours system, where it is alleged that some awards are in connection with preserving the status quo, as in whitewashing statistics and the like, to mask the level of corruption in UK courts.

LINKS & REFERENCE

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/paul-page-royal-officer-guilty-fraud-b1995823.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/paul-page-royal-officer-guilty-fraud-b1995823.html

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