A lawyer for alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein has said that his former friend the Duke of York should "answer all questions".
Lisa Bloom was speaking after Prince Andrew announced that he is stepping back from his public duties for the "foreseeable future" following the fallout over his friendship with the disgraced US billionaire and sex offender.
Ms Bloom said: "It's great that he's stepping away from his royal duties, but it's really not about that. It's about justice and accountability for the victims. So it's important that he says he's going to cooperate with law enforcement.
"He should also answer questions from all of the accusers' attorneys, especially the attorney for Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has very significant claims against him.
"He should turn over any and all evidence.
"He has e-mails, texts, calendars, all the normal stuff that you turn over when you're in litigation.
"And he should have his staffers and security personnel also talk to law enforcement, because they could help us determine where he was when he was there and what they saw. So all of that is extremely important so we can get to the bottom of what happened."
She also tweeted: "He and his staff must cooperate with all investigations, show up for civil depositions and trials, and produce all documents.
"We are just getting started."
On Wednesday evening, the duke had said he "deeply sympathises" with Epstein's victims and is "willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required".
He added that he had "asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission".
"I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein," he said.
His announcement comes days after a widely-criticised TV interview which saw him accused of "utterly lacking in compassion" for the victims of Epstein, who killed himself earlier this year.
Epstein was awaiting trial accused of trafficking girls as young as 14 for sex and had previously served time in prison in 2008 for prostituting underage girls.
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In his interview with BBC's Newsnight, the duke had claimed it was "convenient" for him to stay at Epstein's house in 2010 and he thought it was "the honourable and right thing to do" after visiting to end their friendship.
He also said he had "no recollection" of meeting Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with a number of his associates, including Andrew, when she was 17.
He denied this, saying he had been in Pizza Express in Woking that afternoon with his daughter, Princess Beatrice, and was at home that evening.
He also suggested a photo of him and Ms Roberts Giuffre together at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell may have been doctored.
Ms Bloom said: "It's a new age where we expect, at a minimum, compassion for the victims.
"And Prince Andrew didn't show that at all [in the interview], even when he was asked. He just didn't show it. He didn't have it in him. And I think that's where he's been attacked the most.
"He also was terribly inconsistent on some of his statements, which make him look not credible. That's a problem because he's accused of sexual assault himself."
A Sky News poll found that just 6% of the public believed Andrew's explanation of his friendship with Epstein.
Firms including telecoms giant BT and bank Barclays are among a number of multimillion-pound businesses, universities and charities which have since distanced themselves from the royal.
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November 21, 2019 at 12:19PM
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Lawyer for Epstein victims: Prince Andrew 'should answer all questions' - Sky News
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