Prince Andrew accused of victim blaming over new tactics in court case

Prince Andrew has been lashed after demanding to see Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s mental health records and counselling notes.

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell at Maxwell’s London home in 2001. Picture: AFP

Prince Andrew has been accused of “victim blaming” by legal ­experts and campaigners after demanding to see Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s mental health records and confidential notes from counselling sessions in an effort to discredit her.

The Duke of York’s lawyers have asked to interview Judith Lightfoot, a psychologist, and Ms Giuffre’s husband, Robert, under oath for any information about “alleged emotional and psychological harm and damages”.

The lawyers indicate in newly published court papers that Ms Giuffre’s civil action against Andrew in the US, alleging teenage rape and sexual assault, may be the result of “false memories”.

Ms Giuffre says she was abused by the prince on three occasions – in London, New York and on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean – when she was 17.

Charlotte Proudman, a barrister and Cambridge academic specialising in violence against women, said of the duke’s strategy: “It’s the ultimate in victim blaming. A lot of victims of abuse understandably reach out for therapeutic support. (Andrew’s lawyers) are trying to discredit her.”

Raking over a claimant’s medical history was not uncommon in civil cases and could discourage a victim from continuing with a case, she said.

“I think it’s one of the lowest forms of tactics that can be used,” Dr Proudman said.

Clare McGlynn QC, a professor of law at Durham University and expert in sexual violence, was also critical. She said: “Defence lawyers used to always try to put forward evidence of sexual history, and some of that has been closed off legally. It has moved from ‘sluts’ to ‘nuts’: instead of framing women as sluts, they try to claim they are nuts.”

Richard Scorer, principal lawyer and head of the abuse law team at Slater and Gordon, said showing an accuser had mental health problems in itself “doesn’t prove anything” in court. ‘“If he’s going to take this argument anywhere, it would have to be on the basis that she’s got a mental health condition that causes her to fabricate … allegations. It strikes me that he’s scraping the barrel here.”

Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor in the Rochdale grooming scandal, said: “He’s trying to muddy the waters and attack her credibility. It would be frowned upon in this country. I see no reason why it wouldn’t be frowned upon in America.”

The duke, 61, denies the alle­gations. However, last Wednesday a judge in New York threw out his efforts to have Ms Giuffre’s lawsuit dismissed on technicalities. The development prompted the Queen to strip Andrew of all his military patronages and the use of the style His Royal Highness, effectively freezing him out of the royal family.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

Although the duke could still settle the case out of court for as much as £10m, he is preparing for the dispute to go to trial in September. As part of these plans, his lawyers revealed in court filings late on Friday that they want to question Dr Lightfoot and Mr ­Giuffre, both of whom live in Australia. Their evidence is likely to be taken either in person or by videolink by the duke’s California-based lawyer Andrew Brettler.

Requesting the assistance of the Australian authorities to achieve this, the court papers state: “Dr Lightfoot is (Ms Giuffre’s) psychologist, from whom plaintiff sought counselling.”

The papers request that Dr Lightfoot be examined on her treatment of Ms Giuffre and the circumstances under which it ended; her diagnosis; the nature and consequences of her alleged childhood trauma and abuse; matters discussed during the sessions; prescriptions; invoices; claims she made about Andrew; her opinions of her client’s alleged emotional and psychological harm and damages; theory of false memories; communications with Ms Giuffre and/or her representatives regarding Andrew and the legal action.

Under the heading “documents to be inspected”, the duke’s lawyers request “Dr Lightfoot’s notes from all sessions with plaintiff”. Any medical records they receive will not be made public, according to a confidentiality agreement signed by both sides.

A source close to Andrew acknowledged the tactics were similar to “the Maxwell playbook”. However, they pointed out that Ms Giuffre, now 38, had put her mental health on the agenda by suing the prince for punitive damages linked to “emotional distress”. Maxwell, 60, called an expert on false memories as part of her defence during her child sex trafficking trial in New York. She is facing up to 65 years in prison after being found guilty of five out of six charges. Ms Giuffre is expected to be interviewed by the duke’s lawyers in March.

The Sunday Times