Ex-royal protection officer questions Prince Andrews alibi on night hes accused of sex with Virginia Roberts

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A FORMER Royal protection officer has contradicted Prince Andrew’s ‘alibi’ on the night he’s accused of having sex with teenage trafficking victim Virginia Roberts.

The officer claims the prince may have returned to Buckingham Palace in the early hours – the night he said he was home after taking his daughter to Pizza Express.

The officer claimed that he turned up at the palace late one evening, shouting at security guards

Prince Andrew pictured with Virginia Giuffe, who claims she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17

Ms Roberts, now Giuffe, claims she was coerced into having sex with the Duke that evening in March 2001 after being flown to London by serial paedophile Jeffery Epstein.

Speaking to the Mail On Sunday, the officer who had an ‘exemplary’ 23-year career in the Metropolitan Police, said Andrew arrived at the palace in the middle of the night and shouted at the guards when they didn’t open the gates quickly enough.

He believes it was the same evening the Duke was alleged to have had sex with Ms Roberts at Ghislaine Maxwell after a night dancing at Tramp nightclub.

This statement, if proven true, will shatter Andrew’s ‘alibi’ from the night in question.

The Mail stated that the officer wished to remain anonymous and refused payment for the interview, but said that he wanted to ‘see justice done.’

The officer has said he is happy to work with lawyers of Epstein’s victims – this comes after Prince Andrew was accused of giving ‘zero’ cooperation in the Epstein inquiry.

Metropolitian Police have previously refused to reveal the whereabouts of the Duke’s police bodyguards on that day in 2001, claiming it would be a national security risk.

The anonymous officer is planning on using date protection and freedom of information laws to access his own shift roster and other documents to make sure his account is accurate.

He said to be “100 per cent” of his claims about Prince Andrew losing his temper with guards, he would like access to his shift pattern.

He said: “For example, he would go to Buckingham Palace kitchens late at night with the “munchies” and set off the alarms

“The inspectors told us about their experiences with Andrew. I remember it in my head, he would shout phrases like, ‘I’ll go where I want. It’s my house.’”

The former officer said there was a period in 2000 and 2001 when women would arrived unannounced at Buckingham Palace to see Andrew.

He claimed that the model Caprice Bourret and Ms Maxwell were some of these women.

“I recall that a car arrived at the North Central gate,” the officer, who was also a former Royal Marine, said.

“Its lights were flashing. The horn was blaring. I thought, ‘God! Who the hell is that?”

It was then that he said he realised it was Prince Andrew, who apparently used his bodyguard’s radio to shout abuse at the uniformed officers on the gate.

He said the incident stuck in his mind because Prince Andrew was on the police radio in the car, and because he was using it to shout: “Open these bloody gates, you buffoons! Get these bloody gates open!”

The experienced officer said he felt that the experience was ‘belittling’, especially as other colleagues heard it.

He said after watching the BBC interview it triggered the memory in his mind and he became unsure of the authenticity of Andrew’s claims of his whereabouts that evening.

He said: “If I am correct, Prince Andrew could have returned to Buckingham Palace from Pizza Express or Sunninghill Park in the early evening. Then he left, went to Tramp and Maxwell’s house, which is very close to the palace, and returned to his private quarters in the early hours of the morning.”

Lisa Bloom, a lawyer based in Los Angeles who represents several of Epstein’s victims, said that she hopes other witnesses step forward to help the FBI’s investigation.

Prince Andrew claimed that he had never received a request from the FBI to speak to them about the investigation but said he was happy to help.

The Met said it would consider any request by the ex-officer for his records, but added: “We are not prepared to discuss records that we may or may not hold regarding matters of protection.”

This comes as a new witness claims he saw Prince Andrew “groping” Ms Giuffre.

Steve Scully, 70, says he saw saw Prince Andrew kissing Virginia Roberts and grabbing her bottom on paedophile Jeffrey Epsteins Caribbean island home.

Scully, the tycoons former phone and internet specialist, said Andrew was with a young bikini-clad blonde by a pool on Little St James.

He said he later spoke to Andrew when he encountered the pair holding hands on a pathway.

Steve recalled: I said, Your Highness, and he said, No, its Andrew. I said, Im sorry, I really didnt know how to address you..

He is convinced the young woman was Virginia – who has claimed she was forced to take part in an orgy with the Duke of York on the tropical estate.

Steve is the first witness to come forward to say they saw Andrew with Virginia on the island.

Ms Giuffre claims she was trafficked and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew, who was friends with Epstein, when she was just 17 something the prince has strongly denied.

The Duke of York is being urged to speak to the FBI but has been accused of failing to respond to their requests for an interview.

Previously, Buckingham Palace has denied claims with a statement: It is emphatically denied that The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.

“Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.

Prince Andrew has always denied even meeting Virigina