Andrew served US lawsuit as friends urge him to drop legal team

THE Duke of York has formally been served a US sex assault lawsuit, it emerged last night, as he was urged by friends and aides to ditch his Londonbased legal team amid growing concern about its strategy.

Lawyers representing the Duke’s long-time accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, lodged a document with the New York court confirming that it had yesterday delivered the claim to his American counsel, Andrew Brettler, by both email and Fedex.

Prince Andrew, 61, had previously challenged the various methods of service but judge Lewis Kaplan made clear in an order last week that he could be notified via La-based Mr Brettler.

He will now have 21 days to respond to the claim or face a default judgment.

The Duke is facing the prospect of a highly damaging court case after repeated failures to respond to the claim appeared to have backfired.

His defence is being masterminded by Gary Bloxsome, a London-based criminal defence solicitor, hired early last year.

However, well-placed sources close to the Duke have warned him that Mr Bloxsome’s favoured strategy of stonewalling the allegations has allowed David Boies, the American attorney representing Ms Giuffre, to “outwit and outplay” him at every turn.

Now, his advisers are asking if he hired the right team for the job, amid reports of crisis talks at Balmoral, the Queen’s Aberdeenshire estate, where the Duke is currently staying.

There are fears that his legal team’s “wall of silence and policy of evasion” is also damaging the monarchy.

One source suggested it was unlikely that there would be a “wholesale” change of tack at this late stage in proceedings, with court hearings already underway. However, such is the pressure to change the dynamic that they believe the Duke should insist on a change in strategy.

Another source close to the Duke said that he had been bombarded with alternative advice by well-placed legal experts and friends, yet appeared to have put all of his trust in Mr Bloxsome.

The source said the Duke’s legal team should have created a situation in which they had a “line in the sand” from which they could drive forward. “Andrew doesn’t have this line,” they added.

Ms Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with the Duke when she was 17, in London, at Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and on his Caribbean island – a claim he has denied.

Prince Andrew has not yet offered any formal legal response to the civil action. The next hearing is scheduled for Oct 13.