Prince Andrew has provided "zero cooperation" regarding late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and has yet to respond to a FBI request for an interview, a US prosecutor said Monday. Andrew denies claims he had sex with a 17-year-old girl procured by Epstein and said in November he was "willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required."

But New York attorney Geoffrey Berman, who is leading an investigation into possible co-conspirators of the disgraced US financier, said his office and the FBI had not heard from Andrew despite his offer to assist.

"To date, Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation," Berman told reporters during a news conference outside Epstein's former New York home where Andrew has admitted staying at in the past. Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to request for comment when contacted by AFP.

Queen Elizabeth II's second son was forced to step back from royal duties after he faced outrage over an interview with the BBC late last year in which he defended his friendship with Epstein.

Andrew, 59, also denied having sexual relations with Virginia Giuffre, who alleges she was trafficked to have sex with friends of Epstein when she was 17.

Epstein, 66, killed himself in a New York jail last summer while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He was a multi-millionaire hedge fund manager who befriended countless celebrities over the years, including US President Donald Trump.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2020

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