PRINCE Andrew has finally broke his silence over allegations he had an orgy
with nine teenage girls.
The embattled Duke of York spoke out to “reiterate and reaffirm” two previous
statements from Buckingham Palace, which deny he had any sexual contact with
Virginia Roberts.
Speaking at a reception at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he
said: “Firstly I think I must for the record refer to the events that have
taken place over the last few weeks.
“I wish to reiterate and reaffirm the statements already made on my behalf by
Buckingham Palace.
“My focus is my work.”He spoke for the first time since Roberts claimed she
was forced to have sex with him on three occasions by his former friend
Jeffrey Epstein.
She has told in a sworn statement how she and eight other young girls had sex
with the Prince and convicted paedophile Epstein on his private island in
the Caribbean.
Andrew’s comments came 24 hours after it emerged he is facing an interview
under oath about the allegations, which have been strenuously denied in two
statements by Buckingham Palace.
He made them, on camera, to a select group of 200 guests over bottles of red
and white wine at his annual drinks reception at the World Economic Forum in
Davos.
The under-pressure prince had spent the day dodging questions from journalists
as he tried to keep up a “business as usual” image at the international
summit for financial and government leaders.
He looked grim-faced and tired as he left his luxury chalet in nearby Klosters
for a day of meetings and panel discussions, flanked by a six-strong
security detail.
In Davos, he kept his eyes glued to his smartphone as cameras followed him
round the conference centre.
He met multi-millionaires including Wikipedia boss Jimmy Wales and Tumblr
founder David Karp, a group of Saudi delegates, and attended a lunch to
discuss “Africa’s Growth Markets”.
And there were words of support from New Zealand’s prime minister John Key,
who said the Prince was “very well respected” in his country.
He added: “People will have to put up a case and I would not want to prejudge
that because I don’t have any intimate knowledge of that, but in New Zealand
we treat people totally as innocent until proven guilty.”
On Wednesday night, lawyers for Virginia – known as Jane Doe 3 in US court
papers – revealed they had written to Andrew asking for an interview under
oath.
A copy of the letter, which they say was rejected by Buckingham Palace, was
filed in a Florida court alongside a new sworn affidavit by the
mum-of-three, now 30.
Dated January 14, it asks Andrew to take part in a two-hour interview about
her claims.
It states: “The interview could be conducted at a time and place of your
choosing, and with your co-operation, I believe the interview could be
completed in two hours or less.”
In her statement, made under oath for the first time, Virginia repeats her
claim that she had sex with the Duke in London, New York and in the
Caribbean.
She said: “I knew he was a member of the British Royal Family, but I just
called him Andy.
“The third time I had sex with Andy was in an orgy on Epstein’s private island
in the US Virgin Islands.
“I was around 18 at the time.”
“Epstein, Andy, approximately eight other young girls and I had sex together.
“The other girls all seemed and appeared to be under 18 and didn’t really
speak English.
“Afterwards we all had dinner by the cabanas. I felt disgusted, and quickly
went to sleep.
“Prince Andrew must have flown out early next morning, as I did not see him
when I got up.”
She says she has instructed her lawyers to “pursue all reasonable and
legitimate means” to have criminal charges brought against “powerful
people” whom she claims Epstein made her have sex with.
Signed “under penalty of perjury”, the statement adds: “Since I
filed my motion in this case, my credibility has been attacked.
“I am telling the truth and will not let these attacks prevent me from
exposing the truth of how I was trafficked for sex to many powerful people.
“These powerful people seem to think that they don’t have to follow the
same rules as everyone else. That is wrong.”
Virginia says she was groomed from the age of 15 to have sex with Epstein and
his rich and powerful pals.
She has alleged that the disgraced financier made her have sex with Andrew in
London, New York and on his Caribbean island.
Her claims are backed up by flight logs from Epstein’s private jet, which show
she was in the same place as the Duke at the time the alleged abuse took
place.
Prince Andrew has previously “emphatically” denied the allegations in two
statements from Buckingham Palace.