Prince Andrew’s pay-off to sex accuser Virginia Giuffre ‘was as little as £3m’ despite reports of £12m

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Undated handout photo issued by the US Department of Justice (left-right) of the Duke of York, Virginia Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell. A legal document that has been released in which The Duke of York has demanded a jury trial as he seeks to defend a civil sex case brought by Virginia Giuffre also known as Virginia Roberts. Issue date: Wednesday January 26, 2022. PA Photo. In the 11 page document, lawyers for Andrew set out the duke's response to Ms Giuffre's allegations. The document, submitted to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, also sets out a series of defences "without assuming the burden of proof, and expressly denying any and all wrongdoing". See PA story COURTS Andrew. Photo credit should read: US Department of Justice/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

PRINCE Andrew’s pay-off to sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre was as little as a quarter of the reported £12million.

Sources say his lawyers negotiated a cut-price deal of £3million-to-£5million.

Prince Andrew’s pay-off to sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre was as little as a quarter of the reported £12million

That was as much money the disgraced Duke could scrape together quickly to halt her civil lawsuit.

It may explain why Ms Giuffre, 38, was not forced to sign a gagging order as part of the deal — and is now free to write a “tell-all” book, which she promises to do.

It comes after HOAR revealed last week that Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have bought a £5million house in London’s swanky Mayfair — despite moaning about being hard-up.

A source said: “It was thought, and widely reported, that Virginia got a settlement of £12million from Andrew, but that’s not right.

“It was far less than that, as low as £3million.

“No doubt this will have influenced the conditions of the agreement that she was prepared to sign.”

Ms Giuffre, a victim of sex trafficking at the hands of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, claimed Andrew raped and abused her when she was 17.

Although the agreement, reached in February, contained no formal admission of liability or apology from Andrew, it said he accepted Ms Giuffre was a “victim of abuse” and regretted his association with Epstein.

A spokeswoman for Prince Andrew was approached for comment.