Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had '13 contact numbers for his friend Prince Andrew'

Investigators looking at the activities of convicted sex-offendor Jeffrey Epstein discovered an address book containing more than a dozen telephone numbers for his friend the Duke of York, it is being claimed.

Epstein’s address book - discovered at his mansion in Palm Beach, Florida - contained numbers for several of Prince Andrew’s residences

A private investigator with close knowledge of the probe into Epstein’s activities now claims these included Buckingham Palace, Sunninghill Park - which Andrew shared with his former wife Sarah Ferguson until 2004 - and Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate.

Mike Fisten, one of the first investigators to examine allegations that Epstein, who took his own life in August this year, sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls, claimed: “The book was a treasure trove of Jeffrey’s activities … this book showed us the scope of Jeffrey’s travels, girls, and contacts.

“It really took us out of South Florida and took us around the globe … you could take for instance, if looking at the section in London, you could pick out, the Duke of York, which is Prince Andrew. And when you look at that, under Duke of York it shows Buckingham Palace London.”

Mr Fisten, who added: “He has thirteen phone number to contact the Duke. And (these numbers went everywhere), Wood Farm, Sunninghill Wood Farm, Sunninghill numbers, the Palace, his home number, his home email. He even had a phone number to his modem, I guess to call into his modem.”

The private investigator was one of the first to interview Virginia Roberts, who has repeatedly claimed that Prince Andrew had sex with her when she was aged just 17.

Close examination by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme of  1,200 pages of documents made public by a Manhattan court now reveals that in her testimony Ms Roberts claimed that the third time Prince Andrew had sex with her was during an orgy involving Epstein and several other young girls.

She said in a court deposition made on January 19, 2015 as part of a defamation case brought by her against Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell: “The third time I had sex with Andy was in an orgy on Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I was around 18 at the time. Epstein, Andy, approximately eight other young girls, and I had sex together.

“The other girls all seemed and appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn’t really speak English. Epstein laughed about the fact they couldn’t really communicate, saying that they are the “easiest” girls to get along with.”

A judge in a civil case threw out Ms Roberts' evidence as impertinent and immaterial in May 2015.

The latest claims are bound to cause further embarassment for the Duke of York, who has repeatedly denied having sex with Ms Andrews and has said he never saw the disgraced financier do anything illegal during their friendship.

Epstein’s housekeeper in Palm Beach would later claim that Prince Andrew visited the mansion at least 3 or 4 times – during which time he would receive massages from the girls staying there.

Mr Fisten has claimed in a lengthy interview with Dispatches being broadcast on Monday evening that it would have been impossible for Epstein’s friends and acquaintances to spend any amount of time around him without having their suspicions aroused as to his behaviour towards young women.

He said: “When people tell me, I didn’t know what Jeffrey was about, I don’t want to say BS. I’ll just say hogwash. Because if you were around Jeffrey you were around underage girls. He has no children. He has no nieces… Come on. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that something was going on there.”

The private investigator says he was shocked by what he came across during his enquiries.

“When you talk to these girls …  your hearts had to pour out to them because they were so vulnerable,” he said.

“Some girls would tell me that they would have to wear the same outfit to school every single day, and then wash it in the sink. They just barely had enough food to eat… This is the type he looked for, the younger the better, the more in need, the better for him.”

Ms Maxwell’s lawyers did not respond to the latest claims. She previously denied any wrongdoing.

Buckingham Palace repeated denials issued earlier this year, stating:  “Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.” and “It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”

Prince Andrew said: “At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.”