Lawyers for the Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre have denied claims that a photograph showing the Duke of York with his hand around her waist is a fake.

Two attorneys for Ms Roberts wrote to Prince Andrew in a letter dated Tuesday to push back on “troubling” suggestions that the image was doctored.

Their letter countered comments from “sources close to” the Duke which circulated in the UK press recently suggesting he is taller and has “much chubbier” fingers than in the photograph.

Ms Roberts Giuffre has claimed she was made to have sex with the Duke when she was 17 after being recruited by Epstein, a US financier and multimillionaire. The Duke has always vehemently denied the allegation.

Ms Roberts Giuffre's lawyers, Brad Edwards and David Boies, wrote: “While your recent press statements indicate your sincere desire to help the victims of sexual abuse, we are concerned that certain statements attributed to you (which we hope do not reflect your actual views) are quite inconsistent with a desire to deal responsibly with the serious allegations that have been made.

“We now see, for instance, a troubling assertion attributed to you that a well-documented photograph depicting you, Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell in each other’s company is a ‘fake’."