London - Britain's Prince Andrew said he
could not have had sex with a teenage girl at a socialite's
London home because he returned to his house after a children's
party on the night in question and has no recollection of ever
meeting her.
The rare interview was an attempt to draw a line under a
scandal after months of headlines about Andrew's ties to the
U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in August
while being held on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Speaking publicly for the first time about his relationship
with Epstein, Queen Elizabeth's second son gave an at times
rambling and contradictory account. He said Epstein's behaviour
had been "unbecoming", but that he does not regret their
friendship because of the opportunities it gave him to meet
business people.
One of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Giuffre, has said she
was forced to have sex with Andrew in London, New York and on a
private Caribbean island between 1999 and 2002, when she says
Epstein kept her as a "sex slave".
During the hour-long BBC interview broadcast on Saturday,
Andrew gave a series of reasons why her account of meeting him
sweating and dancing almost two decades ago at a London
nightclub before having sex with him could not be true,
including the fact he suffered from a medical condition that
stopped him perspiring.
He also said that on the night he was alleged to have met
her he was at home with his family after visiting a Pizza
Express restaurant in Woking with his daughter Beatrice.
"I can absolutely, categorically tell you it never
happened," Andrew said. "I have no recollection of ever meeting
this lady, none whatsoever."
He defended his relationship with Epstein, saying it opened
up opportunities as he transitioned out of the Navy.
"The people that I met and the opportunities that I was
given to learn either by him or because of him were actually
very useful," he said.
Andrew also said he stayed at Epstein's home in New York
after the financier's conviction because he was "too
honourable". Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state
prostitution charges.
"It was a convenient place to stay," Andrew said. "But at
the time I felt it was the honourable and right thing to do and
I admit fully that my judgement was probably coloured by my
tendency to be too honourable but that's just the way it is."
Giuffre, who was previously named Virginia Roberts, has said
that she first had sex with Andrew when she was 17 and underage.
A picture showing the prince with his arm around Giuffre's
waist from 2001 has appeared in British media. Andrew said that
he recognised himself in the photograph, but he questioned its
authenticity.
"I don't believe that photograph was taken in the way that
has been suggested," Andrew said in the interview. "I don't
recollect that photograph ever being taken."
He has previously denied any inappropriate relations with
Giuffre.
Gloria Allred, a lawyer acting for alleged victims of
Epstein, said Andrew should answer questions under oath.
"There is so much truth that is yet to be revealed," she
told Reuters. The prince should "should agree to testify under
oath and also he should voluntarily agree to speak to law
enforcement."
PREVIOUS DENIALS
When the allegations were first made, a Buckingham Palace
spokesman said it was "emphatically denied" that Andrew had any
form of sexual contact or relationship with Giuffre.
Andrew has previously said he stood by the palace statements
and recently apologised over his friendship with Epstein.
The prince said he only visited Epstein's New York home in
2010 after his release from prison in order to break off the
friendship. The former investment banker was then a registered
sex offender.
Epstein, 66, died by hanging himself in his Manhattan jail
cell on Aug. 10. He had pleaded not guilty to the latest
charges.
Andrew said he had seen no signs Epstein was procuring young
girls for sex trafficking and that as patron of a UK charity
campaign against child abuse he was alert to the dangers.
"I knew what the things were to look for, but I never saw
them," he said.
He appeared to be open to giving a statement under oath,
saying in the interview: "If push came to shove and the legal
advice was to do so, then I would be duty bound to do so."