PARIAH THE PRINCE
He’s dumped by MORE top firms Accused of racism by ex-minister Has to cancel trip to flood victims
THE Duke of York faced further humiliation last night after more big businesses and charities abandoned him in the wake of his disastrous television interview.
In an unprecedented snub to a senior royal, BT released a damning statement saying it could no longer continue to support an awards scheme while he was its patron.
BT was a corporate partner of the Duke of York Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA) which emulates his father’s successful Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, with bronze, silver and gold awards for participants.
The telecoms giant said iDEA was ‘a natural partner for our new Skills for Tomorrow programme’ but added: ‘In light of recent developments we are reviewing our relationship with the organisation and hope that we might be able to work further with them, in the event of a change in their patronage’.
During the extraordinary interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, broadcast on Saturday, Andrew denied having sex with a teenage victim of the paedophile financier. Afterwards he was accused of showing little empathy for the victims of Epstein, who killed himself in jail.
A source close to the prince described the news about BT as ‘horrible’, saying: ‘It’s a new relationship, they have only been on board for a month but that’s very disappointing.’
Banking giant Standard Chartered said it would not be renewing its sponsorship of Andrew’s business start-up project Pitch@Palace – following accountancy giant KMPG, which ended its involvement amid concerns about its reputation. Standard Chartered insisted commercial reasons lay behind its decision
But it came as insurance broker Aon asked for its logo to be removed from the scheme’s website, saying it was on there in error, while drugs firm AstraZeneca –which was listed at a ‘strategic partner’ – said its three-year relationship was being reviewed.
Advertising Week Europe, which has also supported Pitch@Palace, said it would not invite Andrew again to its four-day summit in London in March – one of the world’s largest gatherings of advertising executives and experts.
Sources at Barclays said it would keep ‘a very close eye’ on developments. Other backers, including Bosch, Air Asia and Bank of China did not answer a request for comment.
The full list of sponsors has disappeared from Pitch@Palace’s official website.
Only the Stelios Foundation said it was continuing to support the duke.
The loss of backing for Pitch@Palace will be particularly galling for Andrew, who during the BBC interview flagged it as a vital way of reconnecting with the public.
A royal aide has called it one of the duke’s few ‘real success stories’. It is credited with helping 931 businesses and is said to have created 5,982 jobs and generated £1.1billion in economic activity.
A string of charities also seem to be seeking to distance themselves from the prince.
The British Exploring Society, of which Andrew is patron, said it was ‘keeping our relationship under review’ and would hold a board meeting today to discuss his role.
The Jubilee Sailing Trust said the duke’s position would be discussed at a board meeting next month.
The Golf Foundation said Andrew had been a ‘valued patron’ but it too was now monitoring the situation.
The Outward Bound Trust, which the duke supports as patron while his daughter Beatrice is a trustee, said it would hold a special meeting this week to discuss issues raised by the BBC interview.
The NSPCC said it ended its association with the duke a decade ago.
Andrew is patron to more than 200 charities and organisations. The Daily Mail has contacted a large number of them, with many refusing to comment or return calls.
‘It’s horrible and disappointing’