In the minute programme, Prince Andrew, Duke of York was interviewed by Emily Maitlis about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein , the American financier and convicted sex offender. Andrew's responses in the interview received negative reactions from both the media and the public. In March , BBC News reported that the friendship of Prince Andrew, Duke of York , with American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was producing "a steady stream of criticism", with calls for him to step down from his role as trade envoy.
On 30 December , a Florida court filing by lawyers Bradley J. Edwards and Paul G. Cassell alleged that Prince Andrew was one of several prominent figures to have participated in sexual activities with a minor later identified as Virginia Giuffre , [ 8 ] who was allegedly trafficked for sex by Epstein. Virgin Islands. Andrew and Giuffre were also photographed together with his arm round her waist, and an Epstein associate, Ghislaine Maxwell , standing in the background, [ 14 ] The Duke's supporters have repeatedly claimed the photo is fake and edited.
A civil case filed by Giuffre against Prince Andrew was later settled for an undisclosed sum in February In August , court documents associated with a defamation case between Giuffre and Maxwell revealed that a second girl, Johanna Sjoberg, gave evidence alleging that Prince Andrew had placed his hand on her breast while in Epstein's mansion posing for a photo with his Spitting Image puppet.
The interview was recorded in Buckingham Palace on 14 November and broadcast on 16 November. Prince Andrew said that he met Epstein in through Ghislaine Maxwell; this version contradicts the account given by the Duke's private secretary in , who said the two met in "the early s". Prince Andrew denied having sex with Giuffre on 10 March , as she had claimed, because he said that he had been at home with his daughters after attending a party at PizzaExpress in Woking with his elder daughter, Princess Beatrice.
The Duke said he had investigations carried out to establish whether the photograph was faked, but they had been inconclusive. Prince Andrew also added that Giuffre's claims about dancing with him at Tramp while he was sweaty were false due to his having temporarily lost the ability to sweat after an " adrenaline overdose" during the Falklands War.
