‘Andrew is on collision course with the Palace’
Royal sources’ alarm over duke’s defiant court submission
PRINCE Andrew last night demanded a ‘trial by jury’ as he hit back at accusations of rape and sexual assault made by a Jeffrey Epstein ‘sex slave’.
In his official response to claims made against him by Virginia Roberts five months ago, the Queen’s son issued 41 denials, rejecting all allegations of wrongdoing – but said a further 40 times that he ‘lacks sufficient information to admit or deny’ other claims.
He also submitted 11 defences calling for the case to be dismissed, including that Miss Roberts’ claims should be barred by ‘her own wrongful conduct’ and ‘unclean hands’. His decision to go ahead with the case puts him in contravention with the Royal Family who, sources say, are ‘desperate’ for him to settle and avoid the spectacle of a trial in New York later this year during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
A source said: ‘Andrew is on collision course with the Palace over this.’ Earlier this month the Queen ‘swiftly and ruthlessly’ forced Andrew to step down from his remaining royal patronages and demanded he fight the case as a ‘private citizen’.
Andrew had not officially responded to the 73-point civil claim as his lawyers almost immediately applied to a New York judge for it to be thrown out.
That was dismissed earlier this month, meaning he now needs to formally answer the accusations against him, including claims that Miss Roberts, suing under her married made of Giuffre, was trafficked to him by his friend, paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and forced to have sex with the duke on three occasions when she was 17.
She says this amounts to rape, sexual assault and battery as she seeks unspecified damages, thought to be in the millions of pounds. Andrew’s eight admissions were limited to information already public, such as that he is a UK citizen and resides at Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate.
He admits his walk with Epstein in Central Park in 2010 and staying at the paedophile’s Manhattan mansion on the same trip, both caught on camera. But in his rebuttal of Miss Roberts’ complaint, Andrew denies he ever sexually abused her and refuses to ‘admit or deny’ her assertions that she was a victim of Epstein.
He even – quite remarkably given photographic evidence of their relationship over the years – denies being a ‘close friend’ of Epstein’s girlfriend and now convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Andrew’s legal team also reject Miss Roberts’ accusation that he has refused to co-operate with US authorities in their investigation of Epstein and his co-conspirators, despite officials claiming he has done just that. Andrew makes clear he continues to dispute Miss Roberts is resident in the state of Colorado, which allows her to bring the case in the US. Now a 38-year-old mother-of-three, she lives in Perth, Australia, and it is understood Andrew’s legal team still intend to pursue this in a bid to get the case thrown out.
Regarding associations with Epstein, the royal admits he met him ‘in or around 1999’ but rejects that Maxwell was a ‘close friend’ and claims he lacks sufficient information to deny or confirm they were photographed ‘at numerous social events together’.
He says he cannot admit or deny flight logs put him on Epstein’s private jet or that he visited his private island. He confirms Epstein and Maxwell attended his 40th birthday party in 2000 – but denies throwing Maxwell a birthday party at the Sandringham estate that year.
Andrew says he ‘lacks sufficient evidence to confirm or deny’ if photographic evidence of his alleged meeting with Giuffre even ‘exists’. Friends of his had suggested the infamous picture could have been doctored. He also claims he has insufficient information to know if he sent emails to Maxwell saying he had ‘some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts’ in 2015. His submission concludes with additional defence claims saying the case should be dismissed for reasons including: Miss Roberts signed away a right to sue in a legal agreement with Epstein, and accusations she also helped to procure victims of Epstein amounted to ‘wrongful conduct and the doctrine of unclean hands’. It adds: ‘Prince Andrew hereby demands a trial by jury on all causes of action asserted in the Complaint’.
But David Boies, Miss Robert’s attorney, last night said: ‘Prince Andrew’s answer continues his approach of denying any knowledge or information concerning the claims against him, and purporting to blame the victim of the abuse for somehow bringing it on herself.’
‘The doctrine of unclean hands’