A FORMER police officer has claimed Jeffrey Epstein’s “madam” Ghislaine Maxwell made frequent visits to the palace to Prince Andrew. Paul Page has alleged Maxwell and other female visitors would make trips to the royal household and would rarely sign the Palace’s official gate book.

He also claims royal ­protection officers would break the rules by driving them home and the Duke of York would reportedly become abusive if he was challenged.

The bombshell allegations were made in 2009 during Page’s trial when he was accused of a £3million investment fraud.

Former Met officer Page, who served in the Royal Protection Command from 1998 until 2004, made the string of allegations against former colleagues and bosses in a defence statement.

This statement was never disclosed to the jury, but has been seen by The Mirror.

Page claimed: “It was not just the royalty protection officers who abused their position, members of the Royal Household also frequently did.

“The biggest culprit was Prince Andrew. Andrew would often have lady friends come to visit, including frequent visits by Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of the disgraced late Robert Maxwell.”

Maxwell has been accused of acting as Epstein’s “madam”, recruiting girls to be the billionaire’s sex slaves – and she strongly denies any wrongdoing.

Page continued: “Very rarely would they have to sign in the ‘gate book’ when entering the Palace grounds, in direct contravention of accepted protocol.

“In ­addition, royalty officers would be told on ­occasion to drive these lady friends home when that was a clear dereliction of their duties.

“When on occasions officers challenged Prince Andrew and/or his guests, Prince Andrew was verbally abusive. Any complaints made were not properly dealt with.”

There is no suggestion any of the female visitors were underage.

Page was guilty of the fraud and was given six years in jail.

Former Chief Superintendent and Head of Royal ­Protection Dai Davies, his former boss, said Royals can bring guests into the Palace “unvetted and unchecked”.

He added that one individual did have a reputation for being “abrupt” with officers, but didn’t specify Prince Andrew.

Buckingham Palace said: “During the trial, which resulted in a conviction for fraud, Mr Page made a series of ­allegations about the Royal Household and members of the Royal Family, none of which were substantiated.”

FALL OF EPSTEIN

Prince Andrew has been was close friend of billionaire Epstein, but his private life has fallen under scrutiny after the 66-year-old took his own life in his New York jail cell earlier this month as he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Prince Andrew, 59, has faced claims by Epstein’s alleged teen sex slave Virginia Roberts, and that she was paid to sleep with him three times.

The accusations in legal documents released in a defamation case Roberts had brought against Maxwell.

She claims she first met royal dad-of-two Prince Andrew on a trip to London in 2001 when she was 17 and Epstein and Maxwell were also there.

The Prince strongly denied having sex with her in London and New York, and a year later at an orgy on Epstein’s private island in the Virgin Islands.

DUKE ALLEGATIONS

The Duke of York was pictured with his arm around the then 17-year-old’s waist at the home of Maxwell in London in 2001.

Those claims were thrown out by a US court in 2014 after a judge branded them “immaterial and impertinent”.

Buckingham Palace have said: “This relates to proceedings in the United States, to which the Duke of York is not a party.

“Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.

“It is emphatically denied that the Duke had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.

“Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”

Maxwell has rejected allegations that she has acted as a procurer for Epstein.

A spokesperson said “the allegations made against Ghislaine Maxwell are untrue” and she “strongly denies allegations of an unsavory nature, which have appeared in the British press and elsewhere, and reserves her right to seek redress at the repetition of such old defamatory claims”.

The 2015 defamation suit was settled, but the details were never made public.

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