Prince Andrew hits back over FBI co-operation claims

Prince Andrew is said to be “angry” and “bewildered” over accusations that he has failed to co-operate with the FBI in its Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

New York state attorney Geoffrey Berman claimed prosecutors and the FBI had contacted the Duke of York’s lawyers requesting an interview but had received no reply. The royal had offered “zero co-operation”, said Berman at a news conference in New York on Monday.

While Buckingham Palace refused to officially comment, one insider told The Telegraph: “The Duke is more than happy to talk to the FBI but he hasn’t been approached by them yet.

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“He is angry about the way this is being portrayed and bewildered as to why this was said in New York. It seems certain people are jumping the gun.”

US investigators apparently requested an interview over the duke’s friendship with the disgraced financier.

Before Berman spoke about Andrew, he said the investigation was looking at possible “conspirators” who worked with Epstein. He added: “Jeffrey Epstein couldn’t have done what he did without the assistance of others, and I can assure you that the investigation is moving forward.”

He declined to comment when asked if Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's accused collaborator, is cooperating with investigators.

But he reminded Andrew that he “publicly offered, indeed in a press release, offered to cooperate with law enforcement investigating the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators”.

The 59-year-old prince stepped back from royal duties after a disastrous television interview at the end of last year, but said he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations if required” over the ongoing US probe into Epstein.

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Meanwhile, Virginia Roberts has launched a fresh attack on Andrew, warning him he is “not above the law”, reports the Daily Mail.

In a statement from her lawyer, she said: “Prince Andrew's continued refusal to cooperate with the authorities after freely acknowledging that he would be prepared to answer enquiries raises even more questions about the role he played in the international sex trafficking ring Jeffrey Epstein and others operated.

“Prince Andrew should take most seriously the deeply held belief in this country that no one is above the law.”

Epstein took his own life in a jail cell in August, aged 66, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

Andrew insists he did not see, or suspect, any suspicious behaviour when visiting homes of his then friend.