Judge throws out Prince Andrew 'sex slave' claims

Allegations a 17-year-old was forced to have sex with Britain's Prince Andrew, which prompted a crisis at Buckingham Palace earlier this year, have been removed from a federal court case by a judge in the US.

Judge Kenneth Marra ordered Virginia Roberts's accusations about Andrew, the Duke of York, to be struck from the record and denied her attempt to join a lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein, a friend of the prince and a convicted sex offender.

"At this juncture in the proceedings, these lurid details are unnecessary," Marra wrote in his order, issued at the US district court in southern Florida on Tuesday. "These unnecessary details shall be stricken." Andrew and Buckingham Palace vehemently deny Roberts's allegations.

Marra made no ruling or statement about the veracity of Roberts's allegations. He said the "factual details regarding with whom and where" she had sex were "immaterial and impertinent" to her argument that she should be allowed to join the lawsuit.

However, Marra noted Roberts may yet appear as a witness when the long-running case finally goes to trial. Her attorneys, who were unavailable for comment, have previously said she was prepared to testify.

Palace aides were this week assessing the latest legal development before deciding whether to issue a statement in response. Five court filings in the Florida case, including a document filed on December 30 last year in which Andrew was first accused, were immediately sealed from the public.

The filing at that time placed Andrew under intense pressure, forcing him to return to his home at Windsor from a skiing holiday in Verbier, Switzerland.