In 2001, a seasoned public servant was appointed to a prestigious role that took him across the globe over the span of a decade, all in the pursuit of fostering business and investment opportunities for the UK.

Reflecting on his tenure, the now-retired official shared his concerns with a public broadcaster, stating, “I thought it was wrong… I’d said we mustn’t pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway.” His remarks were in reference to a disputed bill for “massage services” that he initially refused to authorize, only to be overruled by his superiors.

Speaking under the condition of anonymity, he expressed regret, adding, “I can’t say it would have stopped him, but we should have flagged that something was wrong.”

His account finds support from another former senior public servant within the UK government, who corroborated the claims of excessive expenditure. This included an extravagant allocation of hotel rooms dedicated to accommodating Mountbatten-Windsor’s entourage during official trips.

The claims have been supported by another source who worked as a senior public servant in the UK government.

He said Mountbatten-Windsor’s extravagant spending included unreasonable numbers of hotel rooms to house his entourage.

“I couldn’t believe it … it was like it wasn’t real money, they weren’t spending any of their own money,” he said.

The upper echelon of the public service either simply gave the former prince’s spending claims a “rubber stamp” instead of scrutinising them, he said. 

UK police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor last Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office before being released without charge as the investigation continues.

He has been accused of sharing confidential trade documents with convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Emails released by the US Department of Justice as part of the Epstein files appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor forwarding reports of official trade visits with Epstein.

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