The filmmaker Woody Allen has repeated his denial that he molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow in a letter to the New York Times.

The 78-year-old wrote his daughter had been “used as a pawn for revenge” against him by his estranged former partner Mia Farrow and claimed Dylan had been coached to make the allegation by her mother.

Dylan Farrow said Allen was a “predator” and had abused her in a “dim closet-like attic”. A panel of psychologists appointed by US prosecutors concluded she had not been molested.

The Hollywood legend says Mia Farrow started what he called the “smear” campaign because he had begun an affair with her other adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. They subsequently wed and remain together.

Allen’s latest film Blue Jasmine which he wrote and directed has been nominated for an Oscar. Dylan Allen previously said she decided to break her silence after two decades when the movie was nominated for the award.