The Duke of York insisted that he was “loyal to his friends” when he was told to dump Jeffrey Epstein in the wake of his conviction for sex offences, sources have claimed.

Prince Andrew accused a friend who warned him of the dangers of his association with the American financier of being a “puritan” and insisted that he would not abandon him like others had, it is said.

The 59-year-old Royal, who has once again been embroiled in allegations of impropriety following the release of court documents in the US, issued statement on Sunday night saying that he was “appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes”.

The statement added: “His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent.”

It came a week after the disgraced financier apparently took his own life whilst in prison awaiting trial for sex crimes.

However the unusual decision to issue a statement led to questions over why he visited Epstein at his Manhattan mansion in 2010, two years after Epstein had admitted having sex with an underage girl and had allegedly been linked to the molestation of 36 others, some as young as 14.