Epstein survivor calls for Mountbatten-Windsor to answer questions in US

One of the victims of the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has called for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to answer questions in the US, while a lawyer for the former royal's accuser said those who had previously believed his denials "should be ashamed of themselves".

- Robyn Vinter

Speaking to the Guardian after the release of some of the Epstein files, the tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier, Marina Lacerda, an Epstein survivor, said Mountbatten-Windsor should be "brought to justice". The man previously known as Prince Andrew has been accused of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre, whom he met in 2001 when she was 17 - something he has always denied. Giuffre took her own life in April.

Documents released this week appear to show Mountbatten Windsor asking Epstein's fixer Ghislaine Maxwell to arrange meetings with "inappropriate friends" while she sought "friendly and discreet and fun" girls on his behalf.

Giuffre's lawyer, Brad Edwards, told the Guardian anyone who had accepted Mountbatten-Windsor's denials should "be ashamed of themselves". "Virginia is an extraordinarily brave hero," said Edwards, a representative for the late campaigner, whose memoir detailing the alleged abuse was published posthumously in October. "Anyone who ever gave any credence to the denials of Virginia's claims by Epstein, Maxwell or Andrew should be ashamed of themselves."

Lacerda, who is originally from Brazil and now lives in the US, met Epstein, then a financier, when she was 14 years old and was exploited by him for three years. Though she has not met the former prince, she is one of many survivors calling for accountability for those accused of involvement in the trafficking of women and girls by Epstein.