LINDSEY PARNABY
A former staffer to Prince Andrew who's believed to have run a lot of his diary and is prone to have intimate data of his actions through the years has been requested to testify within the civil case being introduced towards him by Virgina Giuffre, who accuses Andrew of raping her 3 times.
Robert Olney, now a senior govt at Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority, has been formally requested to provide proof to Giuffre’s legal professionals by the presiding choose, Lewis A Kaplan. The choose has imposed an April 29 deadline for his cooperation.
Olney might decline to accede to the request, because the U.S. court docket doesn't have jurisdiction over people who find themselves not U.S. residents. When his title was first revealed as an individual that Giuffre’s facet needed to depose, his spouse advised reporters: “I’m sorry, however Rob is just not going to say something, he’s obtained nothing to say.”
Nevertheless Andrew’s facet might conclude that it's higher to encourage Olney to go ahead lest his non-cooperation is perceived as an try and frustrate the authorized course of. Within the early days of the case, Andrew was broadly criticised for “hiding behind his mom’s skirts” after he appeared to aim to dodge service of authorized papers by transferring between numerous royal residences.
The Day by day Beast has been advised by sources in Andrew’s camp that they strongly dispute this characterisation of occasions and say he has by no means tried to evade correct service.
Olney was a frequent determine by Andrew’s facet when the prince was in his pomp in his function as roving commerce ambassador for the U.Ok. He took on the function after retiring from the Royal Navy in 2001 and was nicknamed “Airmiles Andy” for what some critics noticed as an extreme urge for food for luxurious international journey. He stood down in 2011 because the extent of his hyperlinks with the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein have been starting to be uncovered.
Olney, who labored for the prince as an equerry till 2004, was ceaselessly listed within the official court docket round as being “in attendance” to the prince on international journeys, together with high-profile missions to locations together with America.
Decide Kaplan has now requested the U.Ok. courts to request they make Olney out there to Virginia Giuffre’s workforce, who say they wish to query Olney about Andrew’s journey to Epstein’s properties and about any communications with Epstein and his confederate, convicted intercourse trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Giuffre’s legal professionals have additionally had rubber-stamped their request to hunt to depose a girl who says she trod on Prince Andrew’s toe in Tramp nightclub when he was allegedly with Giuffre.
Prince Andrew, who denies all of the allegations, has claimed he was at a Pizza Specific on the night time in query together with his younger daughters.
Nevertheless, Shukri Walker says she remembers seeing Andrew and Giuffre within the London nightspot after apologising to him after stepping on his foot.
Andrew has additionally been granted help in two requests his facet have made to hunt to depose abroad residents, together with Giuffre’s husband Robert and her psychologist Dr. Judith Lightfoot.
Lightfoot, documentation reveals, shall be requested by Andrew’s workforce to debate “the speculation of false reminiscence.”
Once more, as non-U.S. residents they aren't underneath any obligation to consent to the depositions.