Andrew ‘saved by royal blood’ as FBI feared political row with UK, claims lawyer

Prince Andrew’s royal blood saved him from being probed by the FBI over his links to paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein, a US lawyer claims.

Witnesses who could be interviewed about the Duke of York’s potential connection to the sex offender and alleged criminal acts – yet no action was taken. Ms Bloom, who represents five Epstein victims and a witness who claims she saw Andrew with his sex accuser Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager, claims a decision not to “go after” him was “made at the highest level”.

And she was perplexed Andrew’s car crash 2019 interview on Newsnight was not seized upon by the FBI as he made “claims they could probably disprove”. The Duke famously 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.” Speaking in new US documentary Secrets of Prince Andrew she described his decision to go on Newsnight three months after Epstein, 66, died by jail-cell suicide as “stunningly arrogant”.

She added: “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.”

Ms Bloom also spoke about the lawsuit brought against Andrew in 2021 by Giuffre, who accused him of rape and sexual abuse. Andrew vehemently denied her claims and settled out of court for a reported £12million while admitting no liability.

Ms Bloom said: “He lost the case in a very big way, and I believe he lost because he sexually abused Virginia. “He wants to talk about everything else but doesn’t want to talk about that.”

■Secrets of Prince Andrew is on the A&E App and AETV.com from today