Prince Andrew urged to challenge Virginia Giuffre sex abuse settlement

Prince Andrew has been urged to challenge his legal settlement with Virginia Giuffre.

American lawyer Alan Dershowitz was accused of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre but she dropped the claim in November, saying that she may have made a mistake in identifying him.

Mr Dershowitz told The Telegraph that Prince Andrew should try to overturn the settlement and he believed it was a “mistake” not to take the case to trial.

Prince Andrew is said to believe her credibility has been undermined and has instructed top Hollywood lawyers Blair Berk and Andrew Brettler to look at potentially overturning the settlement, reported to be around £9.7 million, that he struck with Ms Giuffre last February.

“I have never understood why he accepted the settlement,” he said. “There were many, many good defences he could have raised. I’ve thought right from the beginning, as soon as the deal was done, it was a mistake to do it. He should pursue every legal remedy and the media should investigate thoroughly all of the allegations because this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

He added: “I think that the media ought to do a deep investigation to determine the whole truth.”

In January last year, after Andrew was accused of sexual assault by late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, he was stripped of his HRH title. Ms Giuffre alleges that she was forced to have sex with Andrew aged 17 by the financier and jailed socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. He has vehemently denied these claims.

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In February, the prince reached an out-of-court settlement of around £3m with Ms Giuffre, which included a donation to her charity “in support of victims’ rights”. He made no admission of liability.

Mr Dershowitz said: “Everybody should be interested in the truth coming out, the whole truth about everything and it’s very important for the media to start digging deeply into all the allegations and do their due diligence on it … That’s what should be reported, not just one side of the story.”

The Independent revealed friends of Prince Andrew fear that he is becoming a “recluse” and making judgements in isolation while only speaking to lawyers. Sources said the disgraced Duke is “stuck in a bubble” of wanting to have a role in the royal family which he doesn’t have anymore.

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The possible legal challenge comes as it was reported that Giuffre has signed a book deal to release a memoir this year. However, sources close to the book deal told the New York Post it is “unlikely” she will be able to write about Andrew or the terms of their settlement.