Epstein victim's lawyer urges Prince Andrew to 'take the oath and just tell the truth'
9 June 2020, 11:56
A lawyer representing victims of Jeffery Epstein has branded Prince Andrew as having "very little credibility" and urged him to "take the oath and just tell the truth".
While the attorney leading the investigation into Epstein has said the Duke of York "repeatedly declined" requests for an interview, despite the Royal's claims that he offered himself as a witness "at least three times".
America's Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted a mutual legal assistance (MLA) request to the Home Office to quiz Andrew as a witness in a criminal investigation into the disgraced financier's offending.
One day later victim's lawyer Gloria Allred hit out at the duke claiming she had "suspicion" about what he was saying.
It comes after US authorities formally requested Prince Andrew answer questions as a witness in a criminal probe into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to reports.
Speaking to the BBC, she said: "I think that Prince Andrew at this point has very little credibility.
"And I have a lot of suspicion about what he is saying, through his representatives.
"I don't have that same suspicion about the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, (Geoffrey) Berman.
"I think he is sincere that he wants to be able to interview and ask questions of Prince Andrew and this has been dragging on."
She added: "There shouldn't be conditions, there shouldn't be delay, there should be transparency, and the victims deserve the truth. This is very painful for them."
Lawyer Gloria Allred said the victims have been caught in the "crossfire" and are "in pain", she said: "They just want to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about who may have conspired with Prince Andrew to sex traffic them and other underage girls.
"That's all they're asking."
She said: "Let him step up to the bar of justice, take the oath and just tell the truth.
"It's just as simple as that. Trying to delay, trying to deny, trying to evade the questions and attack the questioners is really not helpful at all.
"You know, we have an expression in the law - justice delayed is justice denied. That's never more true than it has been with Prince Andrew."
Ex-FBI agent: Prince Andrew's royal position won't deter US investigators
The Duke of York's legal team has hit back at allegations that he provided "zero co-operation" to US authorities investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, instead claiming he has made three offers of help.
But in a statement the duke's legal team said: "The Duke of York has on at least three occasions this year offered his assistance as a witness to the DOJ.
"Unfortunately, the DOJ has reacted to the first two offers by breaching their own confidentiality rules and claiming that the duke has offered zero co-operation. In doing so, they are perhaps seeking publicity rather than accepting the assistance proffered."
It comes just weeks after a Netflix documentary on Epstein was released featuring Virginia Giuffre, also known as Virginia Roberts, who has alleged she had sex with the Duke of York in 2001 after being trafficked to the UK by the American.
Ms Giuffre has urged Andrew to speak to authorities but a US lawyer said in March that the duke had "completely shut the door" on co-operating with investigators over the probe.
The duke categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.
