A lawsuit has been filed in the US accusing Prince Andrew of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre, according to one of her lawyers.
Ms Giuffre claims she was a victim of late financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
She has previously said she was made to have sex when she was 17 with Prince Andrew, who has always categorically denied any sexual contact or relationship with her.
Ms Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies, confirmed to Sky News that a lawsuit had been filed on Monday afternoon in a federal court in Manhattan.
It alleges the prince abused Ms Giuffre on several occasions when she was under 18.
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“In our country, no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law, and no person, no matter how powerless or vulnerable, can be deprived of the law’s protection,” said Mr Boies.
“Over the past five years, Prince Andrew and his advisors have stonewalled every attempt to resolve this matter without litigation. It is now long past the time for him to be held to account.”
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Prince Andrew’s representatives said they had no comment on the latest developments.
Ms Giuffre said in a statement that the lawsuit was brought under the Child Victims Act to allege she was trafficked to him and sexually abused by him.
“I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me,” she said.
“The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions.
I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one’s life by speaking out and demanding justice.
“I did not come to this decision lightly,” she added.
“As a mother and a wife, my family comes first – and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates – but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down.”
In a BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, Prince Andrew said he had never had sex with Ms Giuffre, saying: “It didn’t happen.”
The duke said he had “no recollection” of ever meeting her and that there were “a number of things that are wrong” about her account.
Detectives investigating human remains found wrapped in plastic at a Salford nature reserve believe children who were playing in the area days before the discovery could have crucial information.
The crime scene in Kersal Dale Wetlands has been lifted after a 12-day search involving more than 100 officers, an underwater search team and dogs.
Warning: This story contains details readers may find distressing
The “significant body part” found wrapped in clear plastic on Thursday 4 April was today confirmed by Greater Manchester Police to consist of the bottom part of the deceased’s back, buttocks and thigh.
Detectives are working to identify the victim, who they say was a man likely over the age of 40. It appears he was white, with no distinguishable marks on his body such as scars or tattoos, police added.
Officers think he had only been dead for a few days.
Police have launched a murder investigation and are appealing for witnesses, including dog walkers, who were in the area between 6am and 6pm on the day a passer-by made the grim discovery.
A trawl of footage from nearby CCTV cameras found children were playing in the area in the days leading up to the body part being found and officers believe they “could hold crucial information without even realising it”.
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Detective Chief Inspector Andy Naismith said: “Our focus from day one has remained on the victim’s family. They will be suffering the loss of a loved one, and we need to be able to give them answers so they can come to terms with their loss. Our work is far from over, this is just the beginning of a long and complex investigation.”
He added: “Although we haven’t found any more human remains in the area from our searches, we continue to work with an open mind whilst our murder investigation continues.”
The investigation cannot confirm the deceased’s nationality at this stage, the detective added.
He said: “My team have checked the victim’s DNA against the UK police database and although this does not bring up a match, there is extensive work ongoing, including trawls of various other databases, missing person records and medical records; it’s a big piece of work which will take time.”
The police also want to hear from members of the public who may have a missing family member, DCI Naismith said.
He added: “Right now, as well as wanting to speak to those who may have been in the area where the body part was found, we are also appealing to anyone who has a dad, brother, or son who they have not seen in over 12 days to come forward and speak to us.
“Our victim could be a family member, friend, co-worker or acquaintance and someone somewhere will have an idea of what has happened to him.”
Metallica frontman James Hetfield has shared details of his latest tattoo – featuring the ashes of the late Motorhead rocker Lemmy.
Hetfield posted a picture on Metallica‘s Instagram account, showing a new Aces Of Spades inking on his right middle finger in reference to Motorhead’s biggest hit.
The singer and guitarist told the band’s 11 million followers the tattoo is “a salute to my friend and inspiration Mr Lemmy Kilmister”, adding: “Without him, there would be NO Metallica.”
He went on to say: “Black ink mixed with a pinch of his cremation ashes that were so graciously given to me. So now, he is still able to fly the bird at the world.”
Lemmy, whose real name was Ian Kilmister, was the founder and frontman of British rock band Motorhead. Formed in the 1970s, the band went on to release more than 20 albums, with hits including Overkill, Iron Fist and Ace Of Spades.
He died in December 2015, just days after being diagnosed with cancer.
Hetfield formed American rock act Metallica with drummer Lars Ulrich in the early 1980s, and the band released their 11th album, 72 Seasons, last year.
They are best known for hits including Enter Sandman, Master Of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters and Until It Sleeps.
‘The most badass tribute’
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Hetfield has previously spoken about Motorhead’s influence on Metallica, and in 2022 called for Motorhead to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
“It’s just a nod, a tip of the cap. What does it really mean to be in there? I don’t know. But to some of these bands it might mean the world,” he said in a radio interview.
“With the passing of Lemmy, it’s really, really important for me to see Motorhead acknowledged in that – because there’s no more rock’n’roll person on this planet than Lemmy.”
Many fans commented on his tattoo photo, with one calling the inking “the most badass tribute possible”.
Another said: “RIP Lemmy. This is a wonderful gift!”
The Only Way Is Essex stars Joey Essex and James Argent have been forced to hitchhike after becoming stranded in Dubai floods sparked by record rainfall.
Essex, 33, said the pair had “decided to hitchhike after hours of trying to get back home” in an Instagram story posted on Tuesday evening.
In uploaded videos, the reality TV stars are seen standing and walking barefoot in ankle-deep water after what the state-run WAM news agency called a “historic weather event” in which more rain fell than in any other weather event since records began in 1949.
Argent, 36, – also known as Arg – is seen standing next to a flooded road with his hand stuck out in front of him, as Essex said: “Hitchhiking, we have no choice.”
Essex also uploaded a clip of him walking along the street pavement, part of which had seemingly collapsed, as a car tried to make its way across a flooded road.
The caption said: “After hours of looking for a taxi and hitchhiking on the streets of Dubai. We have now decided to take the next step… operation survival.”
In the next video Essex was seen holding his shoes as he walked along the streets barefoot, with the water around his ankles.
Footage of him crossing a flooded street was posted with a fitting song – Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet.
The pair were among UK passengers planning to travel via Dubai International Airport, whose flights were disrupted by standing water on taxiways at the world’s busiest hub for international travel.
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Emirates cancelled seven flights between the UAE and the UK, with British Airways diverting or axing four and passengers advised to stay away.
Many flights were delayed by several hours on Tuesday, including an Emirates flight which landed at Heathrow more than five hours late.
Heavy rainstorms hit the city late on Monday, dropping nearly 2.5cm (1in) of rain, according to meteorological data collected at the airport.
Conditions intensified from around 9am local time on Tuesday and by the end of the day more than 15cm (6ins) of rainfall had soaked Dubai over the course of 24 hours.
Cloud seeding
Many roads in the UAE lack drainage given the lack of regular rainfall, which is unusual in the UAE, an arid, Arabian Peninsula nation, but occurs periodically during the cooler winter months.
Earlier media reports linked the extreme weather to “cloud seeding”, in which small planes flown by the government go through clouds burning special salt flares, which can increase precipitation.
The UAE, which relies heavily on energy-hungry desalination plants to provide water, carries out cloud seeding in part to increase its dwindling, limited groundwater.
But Professor Maarten Ambaum, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, said there was “no technology in existence that can create or even severely modify this kind of rainfall event”.
“These storms appear to be the result of a mesoscale convective system – a series of medium-sized thunderstorms caused by massive thunderclouds, formed as heat draws moisture up into the atmosphere,” he said.
“These can create large amounts of rain, and when they occur over a wide area and one after another, can lead to seriously heavy downpours. They can rapidly lead to surface water floods, as we have seen in places such as Dubai airport.”
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He said “intense rainfall events” could be made more “more extreme due to climate change”, with a warmer atmosphere able to hold more water vapour.
Professor Ambaum added: “The UAE does have an operational cloud seeding programme to enhance the rainfall in this arid part of the world, however, there is no technology in existence that can create or even severely modify this kind of rainfall event.
“Furthermore, no cloud seeding operations have taken place in this area recently.”
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Schools across the UAE, which largely shut ahead of the storm, remained closed on Wednesday and the government ordered staff to continue working from home.
Rain also fell in Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and separate heavy flooding has taken place in Oman in recent days.