Witness who saw Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre is willing to testify in court

After years of Prince Andrew claiming he can’t sweat and swearing he ‘absolutely and categorically’ never met Virginia Giuffre, a witness has come forward claiming to have spotted the Prince with the 17-year-old at Tramp nightclub on the night of her alleged sexual assault in 2001.

She stood on his foot

The Duke of York previously tried to slip away from scrutiny over the alleged sexual assault against Giuffre through many excuses, one of which claiming he was dropping off daughter Princess Beatrice at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night in question. However, according to The Mirror, a witness has now come forward with a different story.

Shukri Walker explained that she had an encounter with Prince Andrew at the nightclub, spotting him with the then 17-year-old Giuffre, and vividly remembers apologising to the Prince after accidentally standing on his foot.

Virginia Giuffre is currently suing Prince Andrew for damagesover three alleged sexual assaults against the then-minor, which took place in multiple locations, one being at Ghislaine Maxwell’s London apartment in 2001, following a night of clubbing. A picture also famously exists of the three inside Maxwell’s apartment.

Shukri is willing to ‘do her duty’ if called to the stands

Shukri, who was 28 on the night in question, explained that she decided to come forward with her statement after seeing the Duke refute claims that he had even met Giuffre:

He (Andrew) looked like he was having a great time. And he was with this young girl who was close to my own age, perhaps even a bit younger than me.

‘The young woman wasn’t smiling; it was the opposite of smiles.’

Walker continued: ‘They were with the woman who (had) just been arrested, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Epstein. I will never forget the night because I was told this is a real Prince.’

Lisa Bloom, a lawyer for Walker and several of Epstein’s victims, revealed that her client has ‘already given her evidence to the FBI’ and is willing to ‘do her duty’ if called as a witness.

What happens next?

After weeks of contest, Prince Andrew’s lawyers have finally accepted being served with Giuffre’s case. The Duke of York now has two weeks to respond to the legal papers.

According to BBC News, once Prince Andrew responds, one of three things is expected to happen: a New York judge may claim the case is legally inadmissible and throw it out of court; the two parties could settle; or, the case could go to trial, leaving a jury to decide the truth of the allegations.