Prince Andrew: US lawsuit accuses royal of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein

A lawsuit has been filed in the US accusing Prince Andrew of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre, according to one of her lawyers.

Ms Giuffre says she was a victim of financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

She claims she was made to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17, but he has always categorically denied any sexual contact or relationship with her.

Ms Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies, confirmed to Sky News that a lawsuit had been filed on Monday afternoon in a federal court in Manhattan.

It alleges the prince abused Ms Giuffre on three occasions when she was under 18, nearly two decades ago.

Asked if the lawsuit would be enough to get the prince to answer questions about the accusations, Mr Boies said: "Prince Andrew is going to have to now."

He told Sky News: "He can't ignore the process. He can ignore me and ignore my client. He can ignore other victims and their lawyers, but he can't ignore the court.

"The court process now is going to compel him. If he were to try to ignore the court the way he's ignored us, there would be a default judgment entered against them.

"That could be enforced in the United States or in England or elsewhere in the world. So I don't think he's going to ignore the court.

"And as a result, he's going to be held to account."

Prince Andrew's representatives had no comment.

The lawsuit claims on one occasion Ms Giuffre was forced to have sexual intercourse with Andrew against her will at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell.

On another occasion, he sexually abused Ms Giuffre in Epstein's New York mansion, the lawsuit alleges, as well as on a private island that Epstein owned.

The court documents say the plaintiff (Ms Giuffre) "was initially recruited to provide massages and, thereafter to engage in a variety of sexual acts, for Epstein".

It goes on to say Ms Giuffre was "regularly abused by Epstein" and was "lent out" by him to "other powerful men for sexual purposes".

"One such powerful man to whom plaintiff (Ms Giuffre) was lent out for sexual purposes was the defendant, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York," the documents allege.

Prince Andrew's representatives said they had no comment on the latest developments.

Sky's royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills said: "This story simply is not going away. The allegation won't go away despite the fact that Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied even meeting Virginia Roberts and also the palace over the years saying the claims are false and without foundation.

"I think what is interesting is that this is the first lawsuit specifically against the Duke of York."

She added: "It seems difficult to think that his lawyers in some way won't have to respond."

"In our country, no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law, and no person, no matter how powerless or vulnerable, can be deprived of the law's protection," said Mr Boies.

"Over the past five years, Prince Andrew and his advisors have stonewalled every attempt to resolve this matter without litigation. It is now long past the time for him to be held to account."

Ms Giuffre said in a statement that the lawsuit was brought under the Child Victims Act to allege she was trafficked to him and sexually abused by him.

"I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me," she said.

"The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions.

"I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one's life by speaking out and demanding justice.

"I did not come to this decision lightly," she added.

"As a mother and a wife, my family comes first - and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates - but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down."

In a BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, Prince Andrew said he had never had sex with Ms Giuffre, saying: "I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened."

The duke said he had "no recollection" of ever meeting her and that there were "a number of things that are wrong" about her account.

He has also suggested a photo showing him with his arm around Ms Giuffre may have been doctored.

Epstein, 66, killed himself in jail in August 2019, a month after being detained on sex trafficking charges.

Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in an FBI raid last July and has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges in the US.

She faces trial in November.