Prince Andrew must face Congress over ties to pal Epstein, demands top victims’ lawyer

Renowned US attorney Gloria Allred, who represents multiple victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has demanded that the Duke of York, 65, testify before US lawmakers

Prince Andrew has been urged to reveal all he knows about pervert Jeffrey Epstein under oath.

US lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents victims of the late tycoon, said the Duke must appear before Congress.

She added: “He can volunteer to testify. His silence is a statement that he’s not willing to help.” Andrew, 65, denies sleeping with Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. The US crook’s ex, Ghislaine Maxwell, is now in a “cushy” prison.

Andrew once vowed to fight against sex trafficking amid the furore of his links to paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein. And US lawyer Gloria Allred said the disgraced Duke should honour that pledge by ­finally testifying before Congress on what he knows about the late tycoon’s activities and help victims get justice.

Andrew, 65, is accused of refusing to co-operate with US ­investigators, despite giving a BBC interview in which he denied sleeping with Virginia Giuffre, a teenage sex trafficking victim of Epstein’s.

Ms Allred, who represents several Epstein victims, said: “There’s nothing Prince Andrew can say or do to make it go away. It is news now all over the world. People want to know, who was involved in trafficking or sexually abusing children?

“That’s a legitimate question. His silence is a statement that he’s not willing to help for some reason. So all I can say is, now more than ever, he should come forward.

“He could volunteer to testify publicly. He ­volunteered to give an interview on the BBC, why can’t he now volunteer to give an interview to the Justice ­Department or Congress, or both?

“I called on Andrew to speak to the FBI. I would say now more than ever, it’s urgent. Is he willing to testify before Congress? Is he willing to give more information to the Justice Department? And if not, why not?”

Andrew reached a multi-million pound settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022 – without admitting liability – despite his denial that he had sex with her when she was 17. A picture appearing to show the Prince with his arm round the teenager also emerged, but he has repeatedly and vehemently denied the pair ever met.

At the time of Andrew’s payout, a statement on his behalf read: “He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”

As a foreign national, Andrew cannot be subpoenaed to appear before Congress. But Ms Allred said he does not even have to visit the US to give his side of the story. And she told how she believes the Duke’s name is in US ­government files on Epstein’s sick operations, which she said should be made public. Ms Allred said: “Many in Congress have said that they support the release of the file. I’m talking about Republicans and Democrats.

“US Attorney Geoffrey Berman called publicly on Prince Andrew to give an interview to the FBI and the Justice Department. That never happened. That’s why I’m saying his name has to be in the file. You don’t have to be ­subpoenaed to be willing to testify. He could testify. He should testify.

“I think there should be a release of all the files, which are apparently more than 100,000 pages, part of the Justice Department files, which would’ve included investigations by the FBI. The names of the victims or ­identifying information should not be released.” The Duke has not visited to the US in recent years, amid claims he fears lawsuits.

But Ms Allred added: “He shouldn’t be in fear if he did nothing wrong. But he doesn’t have to come back here. I would think his testimony, if Congress wanted to take it, perhaps he could do a ­deposition in the UK.”

Andrew harbours hopes to return to royal life after being stripped of public duties in the wake of the scandal over Ms Giuffre, who took her own life in April at the age of 41. His friendship with Epstein, who died aged 66 at a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting a trial on sex trafficking of minors, brought shame on the Royal Family. The pair were pictured together in 2010 strolling through Central Park, after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring girls for sex.

Epstein’s ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year jail sentence in the US after being convicted in 2021 of helping him find girls for sex. The fallout from the Epstein scandal has caused a rift among supporters of Donald Trump. The US President recently reneged on his ­election campaign vow to release files on the sex offender.

It came after Attorney General Pam Bondi even boasted the documents were “on her desk”, only for the Department of Justice to later claim no such papers exist. The decision not to release the files followed Mr Trump’s one-time best pal Elon Musk claiming the ­President’s name appears in them.

Trump had a close friendship with Epstein spanning more than three decades. The pair were pictured in 2000 with the then-businessman’s future wife Melania and Maxwell.