No matter what the New York judge decides there is no way back to the limelight for Andrew

In what must be a deeply unedifying sight for his mother, the Duke of York's lawyers will go before a New York court later today to throw out a claim for damages by Virginia Giuffre.

Andrew’s hopes rest on an agreement between his mate Jeffrey Epstein and Giuffre back in 2009 when she pocketed $500,000 for her sexual exploitation and in return agreed to keep schtum about ‘’adult male peers, including royalty.’’

His lawyers say that gets Andrew off the hook. If it does it is a disgrace but in reality this case spells the end for Andrew whatever the outcome.

Why should Epstein want ‘’royalty’’ included in any such settlement except for the fact that he feared Andrew was going to be named at some stage and he was doing his chum a great favour.

The idea that Andrew will then be able to say I’m in the clear and can go back to opening schools, hospitals and the like is for the birds.

He has a massive shadow hanging over him and would do best to announce his permanent retirement from public life.

After all with her conviction it is now clear Andrew was friends with two paedophiles, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. One is unfortunate, two is careless.

Hard to know how thick Andrew is. He must have been pretty stupid to do that Newsnight interview but to claim there were two reasons why it couldn’t have been him at Tramp he used two pieces of ‘’evidence’’.

The first was that he couldn’t have been there as he was at a birthday party for his daughter at a Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey.

The second was that he couldn’t have sweated while dancing at the club with Giuffre (as she alleged) because he had a medical condition which stopped him sweating.

Both those alibis have collapsed as he now says he could not name any witnesses to his pizza visit. That is a surprise as you would have thought Andrew having an American Hot in Woking would be something somebody could remember.

Secondly he couldn’t find any medical notes backing up his ‘’I can’t sweat defence’’.

You would have thought there was a doctor somewhere, a note somewhere, that would have supported an important push back. But no.

It feels like he is making it up as goes along. The British public are not stupid. They do not believe him. A period of silence is required from Andrew.

And Charles, as our next Monarch, must make it clear for the record, that there is no way back.

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