British royal Prince Andrew said on Friday that he was giving up his title of the Duke of York after his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines.

The younger brother of King Charles said he and the royal family had decided “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family”, Prince Andrew said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.

“As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

It comes as excerpts have been published of an coming posthumous memoir from Virginia Giuffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17.

More to follow …