The Duke of York’s closest supporters have insisted that a photograph showing him with a Jeffrey Epstein victim must have been faked because his fingers are “much chubbier” in real life.

Sources close to Prince Andrew launched an extraordinary fightback against claims that he had sex with Virginia Roberts by suggesting he had been the victim of digital trickery.

“The picture is a fake, and the girl’s story is a fantasy,” a source told the Telegraph.

It comes after repeated claims by Ms Roberts, now Giuffre, that she was forced by Epstein to have sex with the Duke when she was only 17. Earlier this week she declared outside a New York court hearing that the Duke “knows exactly what he has done”.

“I hope he comes clean about it,” she added.