Prince Andrew is ‘not above the law’, says Met Police chief amid bombshell sex abuse lawsuit

It's unclear if Roberts or the duke will be on the line for the court hearing phone call, or if they'll be expected to attend.

It is the first time he has been subject to litigation over the allegations that Roberts, then 17, was forced to have sex with him after being trafficked by Epstein and his alleged "madam" Ghislaine Maxwell.

Andrew fiercely denies any allegations, says he has no memory of even meeting Roberts, and has said he had no suspicions of Epstein's wrongdoing during their friendship.

Roberts' new 15-page lawsuit - which is pursuing substantial damages over her allegations - is reopening the case to scrutiny as she claims she was "lent out for sexual purposes" and "compelled" to have sex with Andrew.

Her legal team argue she was a "frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her" when she was allegedly abused by Andrew, saying "no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law".

It is believed that the Duke of York will not be able to invoke the special diplomatic immunity which is enjoyed by his mum, The Queen.

Members of the the immediate royal household are considered immune - but Andrew is not believed to be included in this bracket, especially after he stepped back from his duties.

Bob Morris, a constitutional law professor at UCL, told The Sun Online in December 2019: "[Sovereign immunity] is a concept devised to protect the position of heads of state, but heads of state only, not the members of their family in their function as head of state. And you can't have more than one head of the state.

"So it doesn't apply to the members of people's families, there is no logic in doing so.

"Andrew is in the same position as any other UK citizen.

"He has no particular personal immunity, although he will be better advised than many private members in this country of course... he has access to very good legal advice and I'm sure he will now be in mind to take account of it."

Meanwhile, the crisis surrounding Prince Andrew may get much worse as a second sexual assault claim could be made against him.

Jeffrey Epstein’s former PA Johanna Sjoberg claims the Duke of York, 61, groped her breast when she was 21 years old.

Previously she had been unable to sue because of the amount of time that had passed.

But a likely change in US law could mean Ms Sjoberg may now be able to have her allegations heard in court.

VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S LAWSUIT

In June, the New York State Senate passed the Adult Survivors Act, which relates to survivors of sex crimes who were 18 or older when abused.

If signed into law it will ensure those who stayed silent are able use civil courts to seek justice.

Victims whose cases were previously too old to prosecute will have a year from the time law comes into force to bring any legal actions.

Unsealed documents at the time revealed Andrew allegedly touched Johanna, then aged 21, when they posed for a picture.

In her testimony in 2016, she said Andrew and Virginia Giuffre - then Roberts - were sat on a couch with a Spitting Image puppet on her lap.

She added: “And so then I sat on Andrew’s lap - and I believe on my own volition - and they took the puppet’s hands and put it on Virginia’s breast, and so Andrew put his on mine.”