Duke seeks ‘olive branch’ from US officials
Prince Andrew the Duke of York has admitted for the first time that the
interview that led to his humiliating fall from grace is a ‘‘source of regret’’.
It can also be revealed that he will not co-operate with the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein unless US authorities offer him ‘‘an olive branch’’.
A source close to the duke said: ‘‘I don’t think he regrets the intention behind the interview, which was to clear the air for his family, the royal family and the institution. But the fact he was unable to appropriately or sufficiently convey his sympathy for the victims of Epstein, is of course a source of regret.’’
After a war of words between the 60-year-old prince’s legal team and the FBI prosecutor leading the case into the late billionaire paedophile, the duke is unwilling to assist investigators unless they ‘‘rebuild trust’’ in the legal process.
A source close to the duke said: ‘‘The duke is not going any further in the cooperation process until the DoJ (US
Department of Justice) begin to behave honourably . . . unless they have given him some signal acknowledging there has been a significant breach of trust, and offering some kind of olive branch to rebuild trust.
‘‘I don’t think there’s a legal team on the planet that would encourage any client to co-operate with a judicial authority that has been demonstrably leaking confidential information.
‘‘The ball is now firmly in the DoJ’s court.’’ –