Prince Andrew should join probe in US: Victims’ lawyer
London: A lawyer for some of the alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday said that they wanted to speak to Prince Andrew about his links to the late convicted sex offender.
Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, 59, has faced outrage for days after he gave a television interview in which he defended his friendship with the disgraced financier.
The prince is accused of having had sex with a 17year-old girl procured by Epstein, who was found dead in a New York prison in August.
Andrew denies the allegations.
But on Wednesday he said he was stepping down from public duties because the outcry was causing “major disruption” to the royal family and the charities and organisations associated with it.
He said he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required”.
US lawyer Lisa Bloom, who represents five women allegedly assaulted by Epstein, told BBC radio that Andrew should speak to everyone probing the allegations — including her.
“All of the staff who work for Prince Andrew should come and give information and evidence and the documents should be turned over — emails, texts, calendars, phone logs, travel logs — so we can get to the bottom of this,” she said.
Bloom did not rule out
approaching the prince directly to secure a sworn statement.
She said, “We believe that nobody is above the law and that everybody should have to answer questions if they have relevant information — and he clearly does have relevant information.”
“It’s not going to be easy to subpoena someone like Prince Andrew, he’s obviously not walking down the street where a process server can just hand him a piece of paper. It’s a lot more complicated. If he refused to come we may have a diplomatic situation between the UK and the US. I hope it doesn’t come to that, she added.
Since the interview, Andrew has been accused of failing to show sympathy for Epstein’s victims, prompting companies and organisations to reassess their ties with the royal.
Firms including telecoms giant BT and bank Barclays were among a growing number of multimillion-pound businesses, universities and charities which distanced themselves from Andrew or said it was under review.
Others have faced calls for Andrew to be dropped as a patron. It is understood there have been ongoing discussions within the royal family about the situation, with Andrew talking to the Queen and the Prince of Wales. The duke went to see the Queen in person on Wednesday, visiting her at Buckingham Palace before his decision to step down was announced.