Prince Andrew’s ex girlfriend has claimed she was ‘used as bait’ by Ghislaine Maxwell to ‘find however many girls were needed’ to entertain Jeffrey Epstein’s friends.

Lady Victoria Hervey described Maxwell – who was recently found guilty of procuring teenage girls for convicted paedophile Epstein to abuse – as both a ‘victim’ and an ‘accomplice’.

Her interventions came in an ITV documentary screened on Tuesday, and in a separate interview for ITV’s Lorraine.

Having socialised with Maxwell, Epstein and the Duke of York in the early 2000s, Lady Victoria told the documentary Ghislaine, Prince Andrew And The Paedophile: ‘Jeffrey was really the frontman and Ghislaine was the accomplice. You know, it was kind of like a Batman and Robin and they were a double act.

‘I don’t think Jeffrey could have done any of it without Ghislaine.’

But she suggested Maxwell had become a ‘scapegoat’ because ‘there is no-one else to blame’.

Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and a friend of the Duke of York, will be sentenced this summer.

The conviction came after Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide.

Lady Victoria added: ‘I think he just kind of sat – sat back and sort of waited for her to sort of go fishing and go, you know, find however many girls were needed, you know, to entertain his friends.

‘I think I was pretty much used as bait, you know, looking back at it.

‘You know, I was like, really, young and naive and, you know, she’s entertaining these, you know, big businessmen.

‘So yeah, I didn’t realise it of course at the time, but looking back, I mean anyone that was like, my age or a model…’

Seen as a high-profile socialite, Lady Victoria was a staple in the diary columns of newspapers and magazines at the time and was dubbed an ‘It Girl’ while working as a model.

During her interview with Lorraine, Lady Victoria said about Maxwell: ‘She was a victim that then became the accomplice as her role changed in that relationship when they were no longer together.

‘She kind of switched sides I suppose, one would say. I do see her as a victim as well.’

She added: ‘I mean she unfortunately is a scapegoat right now because there is no-one else to blame.

‘So unfortunately for her she is being taken down for what he’s done as well which, you know, some might argue is not, you know, quite as fair as it could be.’

Her former boyfriend Andrew is facing a civil sexual assault lawsuit from a woman who alleges she was trafficked to have sex with him by Epstein.

The duke, who denies the allegation, was last week stripped of his honorary military roles and royal patronages after losing a legal bid to have the case thrown out.

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