A TRIAL that threatened to drag Prince Andrew into a scandal involving his paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein was dramatically called off yesterday.

Former New York investment banker Epstein, 65, “surrendered” and agreed to an undisclosed settlement to lawyer Bradley Edwards, who was suing him.

The Duke of York, 58, was at risk of being dragged into the case because one of his former friend’s teenage victims, Virginia Roberts, was on the witness list to give evidence.

Miss Roberts, 35, now a mother-of-three living in Australia, alleged in a 2015 civil case that she had sex with Andrew three times in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island.

Andrew has vehemently denied the accusations and a judge ordered them to be struck from a separate civil lawsuit in 2015.

A photograph of Andrew with his arm around Roberts when she was aged around 17 was listed as a possible exhibit for the latest case in Palm Beach, Florida.

In the case, which has dragged on since 2009, lawyer Brad Edwards was suing the financier for “malicious prosecution” as the result of a long-running battle between the two men.

Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edwards, Duke of York with an address of Buckingham Palace Road, London, was on Edwards’ witness list under ‘witnesses which may be called if the need arises’.

Also named on the list were Epstein’s ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of tycoon Robert Maxwell, President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and magician David Copperfield.

But Brad Edwards’ lawyer, Jack Scarola (corr), told the court yesterday that Epstein “a serial sexual abuser” had “surrendered” completely in coming to the financial settlement.

In a statement read out to the court by his lawyer Scott Link, Epstein admitted he made “totally false allegations” against Edwards.

He said: “The truth was that his aggressive investigation and litigation style was highly effective and therefore troublesome for me.”

Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in 2008 for soliciting girls for underage prostitution.

Last week Miss Roberts said abusers would “get it in the end” because women like her were speaking up.

She renewed he claims said that she was speaking out because she was “not going to sit here and let this keep happening”.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said last week: “It is emphatically denied that The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.

“Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”