LIVERPOOL council has refused to fly the union flag from its buildings to celebrate Prince Andrew’s birthday.

The city’s Labour mayor Joe Anderson confirmed today that Liverpool will not be marking the occasion, despite having received government orders to mark the Duke of Yorks’s 60th birthday on February 19.

However, the order comes in spite of the Queen cancelling the Prince’s formal royal birthday celebrations on the same day.

Mr Anderson said that Liverpool Council will not be obeying the orders: “No, we won’t be doing that.

“I don’t think it would be appropriate.”

In his answer, Mr Anderson also made reference to the growing public anger over Prince Andrew’s seemingly close relationship with convicted sex offender and child sex trafficker billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

These include allegations that Mr Epstein forced Virginia Giuffre, who was then 17, to have sex with the prince.

The allegations prompted a televised interview between the prince and Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, which was received so poorly he formally stepped back from his public duties as a member of the royal family.

Earlier this week, messages that Prince Andrew had sent to a friend in 2001 were unearthed in which the prince appears to doubt his alleged victim’s integrity, calling her a “very sick girl.”

Mr Anderson said: “When you look at his behaviour — it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to mark his birthday.”

Labour councillor Roz Gladden added: “I’m not anti-royal, but this man has yet to prove his innocence in regard to his alleged abuse of young women.”