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Woman claims she saw Prince Andrew with Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Giuffre on ‘Woking Pizza Express’ night

She alleges she saw them at London nightclub Tramp, US lawyer says

Zoe Tidman
Wednesday 05 August 2020 12:31 BST
Prince Andrew claims that he was at Pizza Express on the day his accuser says she had sex with him

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A woman has claimed she saw Prince Andrew with alleged trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre in a nightclub on the day the Duke of York said he was in Pizza Express, according to a US lawyer.

The prince has previously denied Ms Guiffre’s claim she was at a London club with him in 2001, saying he was at home after visiting the Woking branch of the pizza restaurant on the night she mentioned.

Lisa Bloom, a US lawyer representing trafficking victims of Jeffrey Epstein, said she has passed information on to the FBI from a woman supporting Ms Giuffre’s version of events.

Ms Bloom said Shukri Walker allegedly remembers seeing Prince Andrew at the club with Ms Giuffre – then known as Virginia Roberts – and Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was recently arrested in the US.

The lawyer said Ms Walker “credibly alleges that she was there at the Tramp nightclub in 2001”.

She said the woman “specifically recalls Prince Andrew being there with Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell”, adding: ”She had never been in the presence of a royal before or since and so it was very memorable to her.”

Ms Bloom said Ms Walker was “disappointed” when she saw the Duke of York deny being at the nightclub in a Newsnight interview.

When quizzed about Ms Guiffre’s claim Prince Andrew was at the club with her on 10 March 2001, he replied he was at home that night.

The prince said he had taken his daughter, Beatrice, to Pizza Express in Woking in the afternoon and returned home.

When asked by Emily Maitlis how he remembered those details from nearly 20 years ago, he said it was because going to the pizza chain in the Surrey town was “an unusual thing for me to do”.

Ms Giuffre, an alleged Epstein trafficking victim, has claimed she had sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions, and was aged 17 on the first occasion.

The duke categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.

Ms Maxwell has been charged with trafficking minors for Epstein, a convicted sex offender who was found dead in a prison cell last year. The British socialite has pleaded not guilty and will go on trial in July next year.

An FBI spokeswoman said it would not comment on the developments surrounding Ms Walker.

The Independent has approached representatives for Prince Andrew’s legal team for comment.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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