Scotland Yard has interviewed Duke’s sex abuse accuser

... and William ‘feels Andrew can never return to public life’

PRINCE ANDREW’S accuser has been questioned by Scotland Yard detectives over allegations that she was ‘sex trafficked’ to him when she was just 17.

Virginia Roberts, 38, who now goes by her married name of Giuffre, was last night reported to have been interviewed by officers after she filed a civil lawsuit in the US claiming that she was forced to have sex with the Prince on three separate occasions by convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this year that Ms Giuffre had launched legal action in the US. Andrew, 61, has always vehemently denied her claims and any wrongdoing.

According to The Sunday Times, detectives recently quizzed Ms Giuffre after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick warned that ‘no one is above the law’. The move could pave the way for a criminal investigation into the claims.

Ms Giuffre claims she was ‘trafficked’ to the duke in March 2001 after being flown to London by Epstein and his alleged ‘madam’ Ghislaine Maxwell. A photograph of Andrew, Ms Giuffre and Ms Maxwell, taken in the socialite’s mews house that night, was first published by The Mail on Sunday.

During his infamous interview with the BBC’s Newsnight in 2019, Andrew denied the claims, saying that he had been at a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking, Surrey, that day.

His lawyers accepted that the Prince had been ‘served’ with the civil suit on September 21, after Ms Giuffre’s team spent weeks trying to deliver it to him.

Last night, a Met spokesman said: ‘We would not discuss who we may or may not have spoken to as part of any enquiry.’

To add to Andrew’s woes, Prince William is said to consider the Duke a reputational ‘threat’ to the Monarchy and believes he should not be allowed to return to public life. One source told The Sunday Times: ‘William is no fan of Uncle Andrew.’ Another claimed that William thinks Andrew has ‘an ungracious and ungrateful’ attitude towards his position.

It was separately claimed last night that Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward held a summit in January where they decided that their brother should never return to public life.

According to The Sun, a source said: ‘Nine months ago Charles, Anne and Edward had a meeting, a summit, and agreed there was no way back for him.’

The Duke has hired a team of high-powered US lawyers to help clear his name. A preliminary hearing is due to be held in Manhattan Superior Court next month.

Ms Maxwell, a former close friend of Andrew, is set to go on trial next month accused of sex trafficking. She strongly denies the allegations.

Lawyers for Ms Giuffre were unavailable for comment.