British PM Starmer urges testimony as second Epstein accuser alleges sexual encounter with former Prince Andrew

Fresh Epstein claim reignites Andrew scrutiny

A second woman has alleged that the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sent her to Britain for a sexual encounter with former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the BBC reported.

The woman’s US lawyer told the broadcaster late on Saturday that the alleged encounter took place in 2010 at the former royal’s residence on the Windsor estate, west of London, when she was in her 20s.

The claim follows the release of a large new batch of US Justice Department documents related to the Epstein case, including photographs showing Andrew kneeling over a woman lying on the floor.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the disgraced royal should comply with requests to testify before the US Congress about Epstein’s crimes.

Brad Edwards, of the Florida-based law firm Edwards Henderson, said that after spending the night with Andrew, the woman told him she was given a tour of Buckingham Palace.

He added that there had been communications between his client and the former prince before the alleged encounter and that he was considering filing a civil lawsuit on her behalf.

The lawyer, who reportedly represents more than 200 Epstein abuse survivors, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

Andrew could not be reached for comment but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.

The claim comes more than a decade after sexual assault accusations against the ex-Duke of York by another Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre, first emerged publicly.

Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen who took her own life last year, has alleged she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew three times, including twice when she was 17.

After she launched a lawsuit against him, he paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt.

King Charles III stripped his brother of his royal titles and honours late last year after Giuffre recounted the claims in shocking detail in a posthumous memoir.

Andrew, 65, had already stepped back from royal duties in 2019 over the accusations and his Epstein ties.

The former prince maintained their friendship even after the disgraced American financier had pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Epstein died in 2019 by suicide in jail as he awaited trial for sex crimes against minors.

The latest US Justice Department release again spotlighted the relationship between Epstein and former British ambassador to Washington and UK minister Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson resigned from the US post last year after emails emerged showing he had also maintained friendly contact with him after the American's 2008 conviction.

On Sunday he told the BBC he does not remember receiving payments from Epstein in 2003 and 2004 which totalled $75,000, according to bank statements reportedly included in Friday's disclosures.

Mandelson, who was a Labour MP at the time, told the British broadcaster he had no record or recollection of receiving the money and did not know whether the documents were authentic.