Fergie's pals want Prince Andrew's sex accuser 'put on the grill'

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Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson’s pals want to see the woman accusing Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her crucified on TV.

Virginia Roberts should be “put on the grill” by BBC’s famed Panorama current affairs program when she is interviewed, friends say, according to The Telegraph.

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Roberts was just 15 when she says she was lured into the orbit of sinister serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was a close friend of Prince Andrew.

She claims she had underage sex three times with Andrew when she was 17. He has denied any wrongdoing.

But in the court of public opinion, the Duke of York, 59, has come off as entitled and obtuse, and was cold and remorseless during a disastrous BBC interview.

In the wake of the train-wreck appearance, Queen Elizabeth effectively fired Andrew from his public duties.

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Now, Roberts is slated to appear in an episode of Panorama airing Monday. Fergie’s friends are having none of it.

“She (Roberts) should be properly cross-examined on all the evidence that doesn’t stack up,” a friend of the Duchess of York told the Daily Telegraph.

“She should be put on the rack. The BBC cannot drill him as they did and just believe her when there are lots of inconsistencies.”

One niggling point that Andrew’s toff supporters have pointed to is the infamous photo where he has his arm draped around Roberts while Ghislaine Maxwell beams on.

Fergie’s friends are demanding Roberts reveals how much she was paid for the photo. Some of the duke’s friends have suggested it has been doctored.

Fergie reportedly wants to put the Roberts-Epstein affair behind the family ahead of Beatrice’s wedding next year.

There has been some discrepancy over whose brainstorm it was to put the prince in front of the cameras.

Initial reports said it was Fergie and their eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, who pushed Andrew into the interview. But it has also been reported that the pair tried to stop the disaster.

At a recent soiree, Beatrice was said to be sobbing over the implosion of her father’s reputation.

“Beatrice was sombre and makeup-free for the birthday dinner,” a friend told the Daily Mail.

“She was probably worried that her mascara would run. She seemed quite tearful at times. In fact, Beatrice has been in tears every day since the interview went out.”

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The prince has denied any wrongdoing but in the BBC chat, admitted he “let the side down” by visiting Epstein in New York after he was released from jail for child sex offences.

Authorities say Epstein, 66, killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun