The FBI has expanded their Jeffrey Epstein investigation by probing Prince Andrew’s ties to the dead pedophile billionaire.

Former child sex slave, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, had officially accused the Duke of York of having sex with her when she was underage.

The probe was mysteriously dropped by the UK’s Metropolitan Police in 2015. According to a former Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy who worked in Epstein’s child sex case in 2009 – the FBI covered up Prince Andrew’s involvement in the crimes.

Dailymail.co.uk reports: Now the Federal Bureau of Investigation will question approximately 100 victims who were aged 14 or 15 when the alleged sex trafficking by Epstein took place.

Prince Andrew reportedly met Epstein in 1999 and the royal flew on the financier’s private jet twice – including once in 2001 with Giuffre.

It’s claimed 35-year-old Giuffre’s account isn’t the only one the FBI – who have already identified 80 victims – is looking into in regards to Prince Andrew, 59.

He also visited Epstein’s New York home in 2013 and it’s now claimed more witnesses could reveal details about his friendship with Epstein.

‘The US investigation is focusing on several potential victims in the hope that they can provide more details about Prince Andrew and his connection to the Epstein case,’ sources from the US Department of Justice told The Sunday Times. ‘They are not going to dismiss it [claims relating to Andrew] because he is a royal.’

The publication reports that Scotland Yard detectives have been briefed and are ready to assist the investigation.

Alleged victims will be interview over the course of the next two months, The Sunday Times reported.

Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, saying they were ‘false’ and ‘without foundation’.

Buckingham Palace has referred to previous denials in reference to his connections to Epstein who was awaiting trial after being accused of sex trafficking by dozens of females when he killed himself.

But the British royal has not recently spoken to clear his name.

Former head of royal protection at Scotland Yard, Dai Davies, who oversaw security for Prince Andrew in the late 1990s said that a probe was vital when it comes to the welfare of the general public in the UK.

Saying an investigation was in the ‘public interest’, Davies added to The Sunday Times: ‘I would have thought it’s in Prince Andrew’s interests to clear this matter up. Any residue of doubt or innuendo should be cleared up by a clear, unequivocal, structured investigation.’

John Mark Dougan, an ex-Marine and former Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy who now lives in Russia, had worked for the sheriff’s office in 2005, the year it began an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and may still have inside information concerning Epstein and Prince Andrew.

‘I’m certain the FBI is involved in some kind of cover-up over Epstein,’ Dougan told the Times. ‘That could absolutely include Andrew’s role, or it could be that senior FBI people visited the house and don’t want to reveal that.’

Dougan fled the US in 2016 as he was probed in an unrelated hacking case and he has accused cops in regards to child molestation websites, corruption and Nazism.

He claims to have back-ups of files from the old case.

‘My copies of the files will never be released unless something untoward happens to me, because they are my guarantee of safety for me and my family in the US,’ Dougan said.

Meanwhile is has been reported Prince Andrew has hired a new Special Adviser to spearhead a PR ‘fightback’ following the Epstein scandal.

Jason Stein, who developed a reputation at Westminster as a ‘master of the dark arts’, will start as Communications Secretary to the Duke next month.

Mr Stein, 28, lost his job earlier this month when Ms Amber Rudd quit as Work and Pensions Secretary in protest at the removal of the whip from 21 Tory MPs after they rebelled against the Government to stop a No Deal Brexit.

Earlier this month, Virginia Roberts Giuffre went on American TV to repeat claims that she was coerced by Epstein into having sex with the Duke on three occasions, the first in 2001 when she was 17.

The Prince vehemently denies the allegations, which were thrown out by a US judge in 2015 because they were ‘immaterial and impertinent’.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said of the accusations: ‘It is emphatically denied that The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.’

In a 2017 newspaper interview, Andrew admitted he didn’t care about criticism, saying: ‘You don’t get it right all the time. . . it doesn’t bother me. It’s just part of life’s rich tapestry.’

Mr Stein and Buckingham Palace last night declined to comment on the appointment.