Nicholas Meikle, who claims to socialise with several famous Premiership players, gave the mass circulation News of the World a detailed testimony of the night of the alleged assault last weekend.

But a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police, which is investigating the girl's allegations, said it was "not prepared to discuss" the claims or comment on whether Meikle was under investigation.

Meikle told the News of the World that he slept with the girl on the night she was allegedly attacked at a top London hotel.

He also said that two other Premiership players and a fourth man also had sex with her -- not eight as had been originally claimed.

But he insisted that they did so with her full consent. "No one got heavy with her, this was normal," he was quoted as saying.

Meikle told the The News of the World that rooms at the top hotel had been booked in the name of England star Kieron Dyer, but he played no part in the events of the night in question, September 26.

Meikle claimed that he and three other men joined the girl "in various combinations", then the next morning they all had breakfast together.

The alleged victim has reportedly told police she agreed to have sex with one Premiership star, and was then attacked by up to seven others in Room 316 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane on September 27.

In a detailed, minute-by-minute account to the News of the World, Meikle claimed he first met the girl in a bar and that he invited her back to the luxury hotel.

He said he had sex with her in his room before another man, one of his friends, came in and had sex with her.

He went on to describe how two Premiership players then entered the room and also had sex with her. But he said that at no time was the girl raped.

"She didn't say no, she didn't push anyone off," he was quoted as telling the News of the World, in a story that was picked up in rival tabloid Sunday newspapers.

He said that after the sexual activity had finished, he and his friend fell asleep in his bed with the girl and that she did not leave them until 2.30 pm (1330 GMT).

The News of the World claimed that Meikle's statement was backed up by a sworn affidavit from another of the men allegedly involved.

Meikle said the two Premiership players who allegedly had sex with the girl were from two different clubs.

It had been reported that up to eight footballers were allegedly involved and rumours about their identities have flooded the internet and circulated among fans.

But newspapers have so far been unable to print their names for legal reasons.

Meikle also claimed that he thought the girl was aged "21 or 22" and not 17, and that she was "merry" but not drunk.

He told the News of the World that things only turned sour when the men gathered in the hotel room for breakfast and began discussing the night while the girl was in the bathroom.

"Looking back, I suspect she could hear bits of conversation and thought it was about her and we were laughing at her," he was quoted as saying. "Even so when breakfast arrived she stayed to eat."

On Saturday, in a terse press statement, the Metropolitan Police said a "very useful witness" had come forward to assist detectives investigating the claims, following widely-publicised appeals for information.

But it added that the development could not be described as a significant breakthrough.

Officers are currently interviewing all those who were staying or working in the Grosvenor House Hotel

during the relevant time period, carrying out forensic tests on items taken from the hotel, and examining images from the hotel's closed circuit television system.