The Duke of York has provided zero co-operation" to an inquiry into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation has said. Prosecutors and the FBI have contacted his lawyers but have received no reply, said US attorney Geoffrey Berman. Prince Andrew says he did not see, or suspect, any suspicious behaviour when visiting homes of his then friend. Buckingham Palace said the prince's legal team was dealing with the issue. It said it would not be commenting further. Mr Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the FBI and Southern District of New York had requested to interview the duke as part of their inquiry into Epstein's crimes, but "to date, Prince Andrew has provided zero co-operation". Prince Andrew has come under fire for his friendship with the US financier, who was jailed in Florida in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution. He told BBC Newsnight in November that he first met Epstein in 1999 and did not regret their friendship - which led to Epstein attending events at Windsor Castle and Sandringham - because it had "some seriously beneficial outcomes". Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers, says she was trafficked to London by Epstein in 2001, when she was 17, and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew.
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