Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother criticises royals over Andrew’s treatment

Ghislaine Maxwell's brother, Ian Maxwell, has criticised the royal family for its treatment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

In the wake of the former Prince's arrest, Maxwell spoke to The Telegraph about his thoughts on the situation.

"There he is, kicked out of his home, completely isolated and unlike Ghislaine, he doesn't even have a supportive family; even his daughters are at sixes and sevens about what to do."

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by Thames Valley Police on his 66th birthday last week, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He is accused of sharing confidential information with disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein while acting as a UK trade envoy from 2001 to 2011.

"You have to note, he hasn't been charged with any sort of sexual offence," Maxwell continued of the former Duke of York. "And the police will have looked really hard for evidence. Look, he's a single man, and what he did or didn't do with various women was sleazy, humiliating for him and embarrassing for the royals."

Maxwell has staunchly defended his sister, insisting that Ghislaine was "a scapegoat for the dreadful crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein".

Ghislaine was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 after being convicted of federal sex crimes charges. She maintains her innocence.

"My sister is the fall guy," Maxwell insisted. "Somebody had to pay the price for what Epstein did, and so the government and the media chose her. I genuinely believe that if Epstein were alive, he would be incarcerated and she would be free."

Maxwell described himself as Ghislaine's "de facto spokesman" but said the rest of the powerful Maxwell family is also supportive.

"We're all supporting her in various ways. Loyalty is very, very strong in our family," Maxwell stressed.