Prince Andrew’s silencing of sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre due to expire

The Duke of York is braced for his sex abuse accuser to return to the public eye as a gagging clause signed by both parties is lifted in February.

Prince Andrew paid millions to settle a civil case with Virginia Giuffre last year, securing a deal that bought him just one year of silence.

However, that agreement will come to an end within weeks, meaning that Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, is once again likely to be free to talk about the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.

It raises the prospect that she could resume television interviews, or even write a book.

Giuffre sued the Duke for unspecified damages last year, claiming she was forced to have sex with him on three separate occasions in 2001, when she was 17.