A FORMER chief superintendent slammed the Met Police for its "premature" decision to drop a sex crime probe into Prince Andrew.

       Ex Met officer Dai Davies, says Cressida Dick is "totally incapable of making operational decisions" and another force should carry out an independent investigation.

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       Prince Andrew has until October 29 to respond to a US lawsuit Credit: Darren Fletcher

       Met officers spoke to Virginia Giuffre, who claims the Duke of York sexually assaulted her at three locations - London, New York and on paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's private island in the Caribbean.

       Prince Andrew has consistently denied the allegations.

       Scotland Yard decided to take no further action in the case, and not to investigate allegations connected to Epstein.

       Mr Davies, who was in charge of the royal protection unit, said the decision was very premature while Giuffre is taking legal action against Prince Andrew in a US court and Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

       Mr Davies told the Mirror: “There are far more questions than answers here. What have they reviewed, what have they investigated?

       “What did the commissioner (Cressida Dick) ask? So far she has proved herself totally incapable of making operational decisions so there is a strong case for an outside force to be brought in to independently assess all this information.”

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       The Met Chief and the force have been under fire over claims of turning a blind eye to misogynistic behaviour and incompetence in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder by a serving officer.

       Mr Davies added: “Given the Met’s reputation and inability to keep their own house in order, what trust should the public have in them to investigate a member of the Royal Family?

       “It is still unknown whether the Met has interviewed a catalogue of potential witnesses including Andrew’s former police protection officers, members of the Royal Household staff and key people associated with Epstein and Maxwell.

       “The whole process stinks of a job done very badly indeed.”

       Prince Andrew has until October 29 to respond to the US lawsuit, with a remote hearing scheduled for November 3.

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       Dai Davies slams the Met's decision for dropping its sex crime investigation into Prince Andrew Credit: Rex Features 3

       Virginia Giuffre, then Victoria Roberts, was pictured with Prince Andrew in London in 2001 Credit: Nicholas Razzell

       ‘Jail Prince Andrew, this isn’t William Wallace era when Royals could do whatever they want’, says Virginia Roberts’ dad