Prince Andrew’s links to the Royal Family “saved” him from being probed by the FBI over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a lawyer in the US.
Lisa Bloom, who appears in the new documentary Secrets of Prince Andrew, claimed that the decision to avoid pursuing the Duke of York was made at the “highest level”.
Ms Bloom represents five of Epstein’s victims and a witness who alleges that they saw Virginia Giuffre with Andrew when she was a teenager.
Ms Giuffre accused the Duke of sexually assaulting her when she was a minor at the behest of Jeffrey Epstein after she was trafficked into the country, claims Andrew has repeatedly and vehemently denied.
In his 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, Andrew made claims that the FBI “could probably disprove”, according to Ms Bloom, yet she claims he still got off relatively lightly from the US investigating team.
Get the latest royal news straight to your phone by joining our Whatsapp community!
Andrew consistently refused to speak with investigators who reportedly applied to the UK government to make him available for interview under oath.
Ms Bloom said: “The FBI clearly decided it was not going to go after Prince Andrew. That is a decision that had to be made at the highest level.
“We are talking about Prince Andrew – was this a diplomatic issue? We didn’t want to strain relations with the UK? Maybe? I do believe if this were somebody who was not a royal the investigation would’ve gone forward.
“They would’ve spoken to witnesses, and if they had enough evidence, they would’ve extradited him to the US to face justice.”
Andrew appeared on Newsnight in an attempt to clear his name just a few months after Epstein was found dead in a New York prison cell.
During the interview he claimed he was at a “Pizza Express in Woking” when he was alleged to have been having sex with then-17-year-old Virginia Roberts, as she was then-known, on March 10 in 2001.
The interview backfired dramatically, and shortly after it aired in 2020 Andrew was stripped of his royal patronages and military titles and had to step down as a working member of the Firm.
Ms Bloom said of the interview: “He had to have thought, ‘Everyone will see how wonderful I am’. In fact, it was the opposite.
“Virginia Giuffre alleged he sexually abused her when she was underage. If he was found guilty, he could have spent many years in prison.
“That interview could be used in court and was a disaster for him because the FBI have him on video making some claims they could probably disprove.”
In spite of his disgrace King Charles has extended an olive branch to his younger brother by inviting him to Balmoral this summer.
