Andrew dealt blow as judge resists move that could have blocked damages claim

THE Duke of York has suffered an early setback in his US sex assault case after a judge refused to unseal a document that could invalidate the damages claim.

Prince Andrew, 61, was said to be pinning his hopes on the settlement, signed by his long-time accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre in 2009, which allegedly prevents her from suing.

It came as Ms Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies, warned the Duke to accept the lawsuit, saying: “Service is not intended to be a game of hide-and-seek behind palace walls.”

The Duke’s US lawyer, Andrew Brettler,

told a pre-trial hearing on Monday that he believed the agreement Ms Giuffre made with Epstein released the Duke and others from “any and all potential liability.”

The decision to keep it under wraps means the Duke will have to engage with his own court process to request a copy. That means accepting he has been served the lawsuit and being exposed to a potentially damaging process.

Alan Dershowitz, a former lawyer for sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, had asked a judge to give the Duke’s lawyers a copy of the settlement, believing it would let them have the case dropped.

Ms Giuffre had accused Mr Dershowitz

of sexual assault in 2019 but she reportedly dropped the claim as a direct result of the agreement.

“The same reasons for dismissing the case against me seem to apply to Prince Andrew,” Mr Dershowitz said. “These documents should get the charges against Prince Andrew thrown out.”

He urged the judge in his own case, Loretta Preska, to unseal the document but she said there was “no basis” for him to obtain it for a party in a different case.

Ms Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with the Duke three times when she was 17. The Duke denies the claims and says he has “no recollection” of meeting her.