A highly respected former Royal protection officer has raised questions about Prince Andrew's 'alibi' for the night he allegedly had sex with teenage trafficking victim Virginia Roberts.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the officer says he believes the Prince may have returned to Buckingham Palace in the early hours of March 11, 2001 – contradicting his account of being 'at home' all evening after taking his daughter Beatrice to Pizza Express in Woking.

Ms Roberts, then 17, claims that earlier that night she was coerced into having sex with the Duke after being flown to London by serial paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

A highly respected former Royal protection officer has raised questions about Prince Andrew's 'alibi' for the night he allegedly had sex with teenage trafficking victim Virginia Roberts. Pictured: The Duke behind the wheel in 2002

Speaking for the first time, the officer – who had an 'exemplary' 23-year career in the Metropolitan Police – recalls how the Duke of York arrived by car at the front of the Palace in the middle of the night and hurled abuse at guards when they did not open the gates quickly enough.

Crucially, he believes it could have been the same evening the Duke was alleged to have had sex with Ms Roberts at the home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell after dancing at Tramp nightclub in London.

If correct, his bombshell account would shatter Andrew's so-called alibi.

The officer has neither requested nor received payment for his interview, and wishes to remain anonymous. But he says he has spoken out through a desire 'to see justice done'.

He has agreed to speak to the lawyers acting for Epstein's victims, who have repeatedly urged the Prince to cooperate with them.

The astonishing claims – provided in an affidavit signed by the officer – are also likely to be seized upon by the FBI. Agents want to talk to the Duke about Epstein, a prolific sex offender who abused Ms Roberts and killed himself last year while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

His account will heap new pressure on the Metropolitan Police to disclose any information it holds on Andrew's whereabouts on the day he was accused of having sex with Ms Roberts, 24 years his younger.

The force has previously refused to reveal where the Duke's police bodyguards were that day, claiming the information could put national security at risk.

'AN IDEAL ROLE MODEL': The Royal protection officer (right) being honoured for 'dedicated' work with the Met

But the former officer intends to use data protection and freedom of information laws to access his own shift roster and other documents to confirm whether his account is correct.

'Having considered Prince Andrew's alibi with my own recollections, it is my belief that the abusive confrontation with the royal could have been in the early hours of Sunday March 11, 2001,' said the officer.

'To be 100 per cent certain I would like access to my duty roster for that month. I believe I have a right to know my own shift patterns.'

Last night, Lisa Bloom, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who represents several of Epstein's victims, said: 'We have been hoping that another witness would come forward and we encourage any others to contact me as well.

'I would be delighted to speak with the officer. It is now more imperative than ever that Prince Andrew does as he promised and cooperates with the FBI's investigation.'

A lawyer representing several other victims said he was keen to meet the officer, too, adding: 'We have being urging Prince Andrew to tell the FBI what he knows and we continue to do so.'

Ms Roberts – now 36 and going by her married surname Giuffre – alleges she was ordered to have sex with the Duke at the Belgravia home of Ms Maxwell, which is barely a mile from Buckingham Palace.

This was the first of three alleged sexual encounters with the Prince.

Ms Roberts – now 36 and going by her married surname Giuffre – alleges she was ordered to have sex with the Duke at the Belgravia home of Ms Maxwell. Pictured: Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell in March 2001

Andrew has repeatedly and categorically denied having any sexual contact with Ms Roberts and, for the first time, provided an 'alibi' during a disastrous interview with the BBC's Newsnight in November. Speaking to Emily Maitlis, he said it 'couldn't have happened' because he was at home with his children.

'I was at home, I was with the children and I'd taken Beatrice [then aged 12] to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at I suppose four or five in the afternoon,' he said.

'And then because the Duchess was away, we have a simple rule in the family that when one is away the other one is there.' He specifically remembered this 'because going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do'. Asked if he was 'absolutely sure that you were at home on March 10', he replied: 'Yeah.'

But for the experienced former police officer, Prince Andrew's explanation stirred a troubling memory from his time serving at Buckingham Palace with SO14, Scotland Yard's elite Royalty Protection Command. On taking up his job in January 2000, the officer was warned that Andrew had a reputation for being rude.

'For example, he would go to Buckingham Palace kitchens late at night with the "munchies" and set off the alarms,' the officer said.

'We wouldn't get sent to deal with him. It would have to be an inspector. He wouldn't engage with officers of my rank. The inspectors told us about their experiences with Andrew. I remember it in my head, he would shout phrases like, "I'll go where I want. It's my house."'

It has been widely assumed that the 'home' referred to by Andrew in the Newsnight interview was Sunninghill Park, the Berkshire mansion he shared with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their daughters.

It is about ten miles from Woking.

But the account of the Duke's angry insistence that Buckingham Palace, where he has a private apartment, was his 'house' raises questions about whether he may have been referring to the palace in the Newsnight interview.

The former officer said there was a period in 2000 and 2001 when women would arrive unannounced at Buckingham Palace to see Andrew.

They included the model Caprice Bourret and, on at least one occasion, Ms Maxwell.

The former officer also said there was a period in 2000 and 2001 when women would arrive unannounced at Buckingham Palace to see Andrew. They included the model Caprice Bourret (pictured) and, on at least one occasion, Ms Maxwell

'I remember Maxwell visiting once when I was on duty,' he said.

'She just turned up without an appointment, her name was not in the security book, and we were told to let her in.'

In 2000, news of Andrew's friendship with Ms Bourret made headlines. In a magazine interview at the time, he said: 'Of course I know Caprice, but just because I have dinner with someone who is blonde and incredibly pretty, it does not mean it should end up in the newspapers.'

Unlike other senior Royals, Andrew, the officer said, did not want to tell police what he was doing and resented when they kept records about his guests.

'He always feels the police are prying and we shouldn't know things. We shouldn't be writing stuff down about his guests, that it is nothing to do with us.'

According to the officer, the most extraordinary example of the Duke's hostility towards the police came in what the ex-PC now believes may have been the early hours of March 11, 2001.

The officer, who regularly worked Saturdays and weekends, was on duty at the North Centre Gate, the main route through which cars enter and leave Buckingham Palace. He recalls Andrew leaving the Palace earlier during the evening in what he believes was a green Jaguar.

I want to see justice done, says officer praised for his honesty As a Royal Marine he fought for his country, as a policeman he pursued armed robbers, and as a Royal protection officer he secured Buckingham Palace against terrorist attacks. Today, a man who served Queen and Country for more than 30 years has chosen to break the silence usually kept by members of the elite SO14 unit because he 'just wants to see justice done'. Like Prince Andrew, he served in the Falklands War in 1982. By then, he had completed two tours of Northern Ireland. In 1986, after 12 years as a Royal Marine commando, he was honourably discharged with 'exemplary' testimonials to his 'honesty and above all loyalty'. He joined the Metropolitan Police and, thanks to his firearms training, joined the first armed response vehicle to patrol London in search of IRA active service units. After winning a bravery medal for helping to intercept three bank robbers, he was posted first to the Met's Specialist Firearms Command (SO19) and then the Flying Squad (SO9). In January 2000, he was picked for Royalty Protection (SO14) at Buckingham Palace. He was later described by Commander John Yates – who went on to become a Met Assistant Commissioner – as 'in every sense an ideal role model for younger and older officers alike'. The SO14 chief superintendent at the time, Peter Prentice, said he was 'totally dedicated' and 'all that is best in the Metropolitan Police'. While formally stationed at Buckingham Palace, he was also chosen to protect the Queen when she took her summer break at Balmoral in Scotland. He retired from the police in December 2009. By Michael Gillard Advertisement

The former officer remembers Andrew and his bodyguard returning to the palace in the car in the early hours. The Duke was furious the gates had been closed.

'I recall that a car arrived at the North Central Gate,' the former officer said. 'Its lights were flashing. The horn was blaring. I thought, "God! Who the hell is that?"

'I go out quick and I'm thinking, "Damn, it's him, he's back." It was Prince Andrew.'

The Duke apparently used his bodyguard's radio to shout abuse at the shocked uniformed officers on the gate.

'The abuse started as soon as the lights were flashing outside the North Centre Gate and it continued until the North Arch was unlocked,' he said. 'The reason the incident is so unusual is because firstly Prince Andrew was on the police radio in the car, and secondly because he was shouting abuse through the radio. The abuse I remember was phrases such as, "Open these bloody gates, you buffoons! Get these bloody gates open!"

'He was not swearing but using abusive language in a raised voice. I found the experience belittling. All my colleagues would have heard it, including those in the control room.'

The Duke has repeatedly been accused of boorish behaviour and impatience. In 2016, it was reported that he rammed closed gates in Windsor Great Park with his Range Rover to avoid a one-mile detour to his home in Royal Lodge.

The former officer, who retired in 2009 with a certificate of exemplary service, has understandably never forgotten the extraordinary night when he says the Queen's second son behaved so appallingly.

He said: 'After seeing the BBC interview, it dawned on me that the abusive incident I experienced could cast doubt on Prince Andrew's alibi if it were the same night.

'If I am correct, Prince Andrew could have returned to Buckingham Palace from Pizza Express or Sunninghill Park in the early evening. Then he left, went to Tramp and Maxwell's house, which is very close to the palace, and returned to his private quarters in the early hours of the morning.'

It is not the first time that Andrew's 'alibi' has been questioned. In December, this newspaper revealed that a witness had come forward to corroborate claims that the Duke was dancing with Ms Roberts in Tramp.

And despite claiming to be puzzled at his 'party prince' reputation, The Mail on Sunday also discovered that he had attended a birthday party at Tramp thrown for racehorse breeder Guy Sangster just 72 hours after Ms Roberts claims that she had been there with him.

The detailed testimony from the former officer raises fresh questions over the Met's initial investigation into Ms Roberts' claims in 2015. She made a criminal complaint against Epstein and Maxwell in July of that year, but in November 2016 Scotland Yard decided not to proceed with an inquiry. It is understood the complaint did not include any criminal allegations against the Prince.

However, the former protection officer says that as well as his own roster, the Met is likely to hold other records that could confirm his account, as guest and the time they arrived were always recorded in a security book.

'It's possible for people to come in at a moment's notice but it still gets put in the book on arrival,' he said.

The duty rosters and any notes or reports written by Andrew's personal protection officers could also provide crucial evidence.

'Much of the evidence that would prove or disprove what Virginia Roberts and I are saying is held by the Metropolitan Police in its human resources department and the Royal protection department,' he said.

'These include sickness records, duty rosters, annual leave, advance security checks, palace appointment books, especially for the North Centre Gate. There must be so many files. With the police, everything is written down.'

The former PC said he informed his duty inspector about Andrew's behaviour but was told not to make a formal complaint. 'He said these stories about dealings with Prince Andrew go nowhere, so just swallow it. Consequently, I made no complaint but never forgot about the incident.'

The Mail on Sunday has spoken to the inspector who recalls the source complaining about Andrew's behaviour at the gate, but could not recall when the incident took place.

Two of the Duke's former bodyguards declined to comment last night, as did a spokesman for Prince Andrew.

The Met said it would consider any request by the ex-officer for his records, but added: 'We are not prepared to discuss records that we may or may not hold regarding matters of protection.'

It said its position on Ms Roberts's complaint in 2015 has not changed since last November when it issued a statement that said the Met 'was not the appropriate authority' to investigate because it 'would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the UK'.

'I saw Prince Andrew groping Virginia Roberts': Witness claims he saw the Duke kissing and holding hands with Epstein sex slave on the disgraced tycoon's infamous 'paedo island'

Prince Andrew 'grinded against and groped' Virginia Roberts on Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island, a witness has claimed.

Steve Scully, 70, said he saw the Duke of York fooling around by the pool for several minutes with a bikini-clad blonde which he insists was sex slave Ms Roberts.

Mr Scully, who maintained the internet and phone signal on Little St James for the billionaire paedophile, made the bombshell accusations in an interview with the Sun on Sunday.

Andrew has strenuously denied Ms Roberts allegations that she was forced to have sex with him three times in 2001.

Steve Scully, 70, said he saw the Duke of York fooling around by the pool on Little St James (pictured) for several minutes with a bikini-clad blonde he insists was sex slave Ms Roberts

Ms Roberts - now known as Ms Giuffre - also claims she was coerced into having an orgy with Andrew on Epstein's luxury hideaway.

It was on this sun-kissed bolthole where Mr Scully insists he saw Andrew and Ms Roberts getting intimate some time between 2001 and 2004.

The father-of-three said: 'He was grabbing her ass and stuff like that. They were kissing.

'He was grinding against her and groping her.'

As he watched the couple, Mr Scully said he was acutely aware how much younger the woman was, and that she 'stood like a kid would stand behind a parent'

This made him feel uncomfortable as he believed their relationship 'wasn't appropriate'.

Andrew's relationship with the now dead paedophile (pictured) has dogged the royal, 60, over the last 12 months

But Mr Scully also claimed that the woman believed to be Ms Roberts was not resisting the advances from Andrew, whose face was a picture of 'excitement'.

The witness said he bumped into Andrew holding hands with the blonde, and even recalled his conversation with the royal.

'I said, "Your Highness," and he said, "No, it's Andrew". I said, "I'm sorry, I really didn't know how to address you",' according to the Sun on Sunday.

Mr Scully, who lives on the nearby island of St Thomas and worked for Epstein between 1999 and 2006, said he would repeat his allegation in court under oath.

Andrew's relationship with the now dead paedophile has dogged the royal, 60, over the last 12 months.

Virginia Roberts holds a photo of herself at age 16, when she says Jeffrey Epstein began abusing her

Ms Roberts claims the prince abused her three times - once at Epstein's New York apartment, once in the Caribbean, and once at the London home of Ghislane Maxwell, Epstein's alleged madam.

Speaking about her first alleged encounter with Andrew in London, she said she was taken to Tramp nightclub where she recalls dancing with the 'sweating' prince.

After leaving the nightclub, Ms Roberts said: 'In the car Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey.'

Her lawyer tonight described Mr Scully as a 'significant witness'.

Andrew has been attacked by US attorneys for Epstein's alleged victims for not cooperating with the case.

Earlier this week, a school bus urging him to comply drove outside Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace last night declined to comment.