I kick myself over Epstein, says Andrew
Prince Andrew has admitted that he ‘‘let the side down’’ and damaged Britain’s royal family by maintaining his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein even after the billionaire paedophile had been convicted.
Andrew broke his silence on the Epstein scandal yesterday to insist that he had no memory of meeting the woman who alleges she was ‘‘trafficked’’ to have sex with him aged 17.
However, he admitted that he was wrong to maintain a friendship with the US financier after Epstein was jailed for procuring an underage girl for prostitution.
The Duke of York agreed to a ‘‘no holds barred’’ interview with Emily Maitlis of the BBC, after months of damaging headlines about his ties to Epstein, who committed suicide in August while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 36, alleges that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times between 1999 and 2002, on the instructions of Epstein and his friend Ghislaine Maxwell.
‘‘I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever,’’ Andrew told the BBC, when confronted with her allegation that they had sex at Maxwell’s Belgravia home after dancing at a London nightclub.
The duke said he should have cut ties with Epstein after his conviction in 2008. The pair had been friends since 1999, regularly holidaying together.
‘‘The problem was the fact that once he had been convicted . . . I stayed with him,’’ he told Maitlis.
‘‘That’s the bit that, as it were, I kick myself for on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family. We try and uphold the highest standards and practices, and I let the side down, simple as that.’’
Epstein courted friends including Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, hosting parties on his Caribbean island, where Giuffre claims Andrew took part in an orgy with nine girls.
Epstein admitted procurement of minors for prostitution, but a plea deal allowed him to evade sex trafficking charges. He served 13 months in prison.
Jack Scarola, a lawyer for Giuffre, said: ‘‘I would love to see Prince Andrew submit to an interview under oath with the investigating authorities. Talking to the media doesn’t quite cut it.’’