Buckingham Palace issues second denial over Andrew sex claims

Sarah Ferguson has made a steadfast defence of her former husband Prince Andrew over claims he slept with a woman when she was underage.

Ms Ferguson told NBC News her former husband was a "humungously good man" and she would not "stand by and let him have his character defamed".

"The American people know my integrity and my integrity is of a great man, and I'll have not one word said about him on any level," she added.

It has been a bitter back and forth between prominent US lawyer Alan Dershowitz and a woman who claims she slept with him when she was underage.

Mr Dershowitz is suing for defamation and wants the woman's lawyers disbarred.

Now the lawyers have themselves launched a counter-claim for defamation against Mr Dershowitz.

Prince Andrew, who is also mentioned in a civil case in Florida, has said allegations he had sex with a woman when she was underage are "false and without any foundation".

ITV News Correspondent Lewis Vaughan-Jones reports.

Robert Maxwell's daughter, Ghislaine, who is embroiled in the underage sex allegations involving Prince Andrew has refused to comment on the scandal after being questioned by ITV News.

A lawyer who represented several women who made claims against disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein has told ITV News Prince Andrew should explain "why he's friends with this type of a man."

"It certainly doesn't look very good for someone of Prince Andrew's notoriety to be socialising with a convicted sexual predator," Florida lawyer Spencer Kuvin said.

"It just does not look good. It's salacious, it's unfortunate and people should be questioning just exactly the extent of that relationship and he should be answering for why he's friends with this type of a man."

"These influential and powerful people should have to answer these types of questions just like anyone else should," Kuvin added.

The Duke of York has denied allegations he had sex with a woman when she was underage, calling the claims "false and without any foundation".

Boris Johnson has given his support to Prince Andrew in the wake of underage sex claims, saying he has sympathy for the Duke of York.

"He does a huge amount of good and a huge amount of hard work. So if you are asking me whether I have sympathy for him, of course I do," the Mayor of London told LBC Radio.

"Prince Andrew, let's be very clear, is a guy who does a huge amount of unsung, unheralded work for this country," Johnson said. "I think that people should respect that side of his work."

Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has filed a defamation lawsuit and vowed to seek the disbarment of two lawyers representing a woman who claims she was forced to have sex with him when she was underage.

Prof Dershowitz denies the allegations, which were made in a Florida federal court filing last week, and claims Paul Cassell and Bradley Edwards knew the charges were false when they filed them.

The criminal defence attorney, who is not the target of the initial lawsuit, should not have been named as the "outrageous" allegations "are completely irrelevant to this case," the court papers state.

"To the great detriment of Prof Dershowitz, and as plaintiffs’ counsel surely anticipated, the contemptible allegations against Prof Dershowitz and others have created a media firestorm," it adds.

Prince Andrew, who was also named in the initial lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein, has called the allegations "false and without any foundation".

The Duchess of York has defended her former husband Prince Andrew in the wake of underage sex claims, describing him as "the greatest man there is".

Asked during a ski trip if she was standing by him, Sarah Ferguson told the Daily Mail: "The York family is a tight unit. We've always been a tight unit.

"He is the greatest man there is. It was the finest moment of my life in 1986 when I married him. He is a great man, the best man in the world."

Ms Ferguson reportedly made the comments as she left the luxury ski chalet in Verbier, Switzerland, where she had been holidaying with the Duke of York and their younger daughter, Eugenie.

The American lawyer, caught up in the same under-age sex claims as Prince Andrew has told ITV News that no deal was ever done to keep them both out of court.

Claims that the prince had sex with an underage girl could be aired in full in court after an American lawyer, accused alongside him, filed a civil case against the alleged victim.

Alan Dershowitz says it will allow him, and the Duke of York, a chance to clear their names.

ITV News Correspondent Lewis Vaughan Jones spoke to Mr Dershowitz in Florida:

Claims Prince Andrew had sex with an underage girl could be aired in full in court after an American lawyer, accused alongside him, is to file a civil case against the alleged victim.

Alan Dershowitz says it will allow him, and the Duke of York, a chance to clear their names.

ITV News Correspondent Lewis Vaughan Jones spoke to Mr Dershowitz in Florida:

Prince Andrew is "resilient" in the face of allegations he had sex with a woman when she was underage and will be keen to "push on" with his work, a royal aide has said.

Buckingham Palace has issued two firm denials of the claim against the Duke of York in recent days, which has arisen from a US lawsuit related to a former associate of the prince.

The royal aide suggested Andrew would not delay in resuming his duties after his traditional New Year skiing break.

• Prince Andrew allegations: Who's who and what do we know?