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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/20/bt-says-it-will-not-work-with-company-linked-to-prince-andrew
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| BT says it will not work with company linked to Prince Andrew | BT says it will not work with company linked to Prince Andrew |
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| Pressure on prince grows as telecoms firm becomes latest to distance itself from him | |
| BT has said it will not work with a company that counts Prince Andrew as patron, amid a growing exodus away from the royal. | BT has said it will not work with a company that counts Prince Andrew as patron, amid a growing exodus away from the royal. |
| Andrew’s disastrous interview about his friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and alleged sexual encounter with a teenager had already led prominent businesses and other organisations to sever ties with his entrepreneurial scheme, Pitch@Palace. | |
| On Wednesday morning, the telecoms firm confirmed it was reviewing its ties with iDEA, a partnered independent community interest company, in light of its relationship with the duke. | |
| “We have been working with the company since its launch in 2017 and our dealings have been with its executive directors not its patron, the Duke of York,” a BT spokesperson said. “As a leading provider of online digital skills training, iDEA was a natural partner for our new Skills for Tomorrow programme. | “We have been working with the company since its launch in 2017 and our dealings have been with its executive directors not its patron, the Duke of York,” a BT spokesperson said. “As a leading provider of online digital skills training, iDEA was a natural partner for our new Skills for Tomorrow programme. |
| “However, 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.” | “However, 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.” |
| Pitch@Palace has removed its web page listing corporate supporters, and the educational charity Outward Bound Trust, which has a long association with the royal family, is considering his role as patron. | Pitch@Palace has removed its web page listing corporate supporters, and the educational charity Outward Bound Trust, which has a long association with the royal family, is considering his role as patron. |
| The move came as two Australian universities severed ties with Pitch@Palace after banking services company Standard Chartered withdrew its support for the scheme – which claims to have generated more than 6,000 jobs – on Tuesday citing “commercial reasons”. | The move came as two Australian universities severed ties with Pitch@Palace after banking services company Standard Chartered withdrew its support for the scheme – which claims to have generated more than 6,000 jobs – on Tuesday citing “commercial reasons”. |
| On Monday, it emerged that KPMG, a founding partner of the scheme, would not be renewing its sponsorship, which ended on 31 October.The Financial Times has reported that one prominent backer of Pitch@Palace is pushing for the Queen’s son to relinquish his association with the scheme, which he founded in 2014. | |
| Andrew, who has failed to express regret over his friendship with Epstein, is facing mounting scrutiny amid allegations he had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who had been coerced by the financier when she was 17 and with whom the prince has been pictured. He has strenuously denied her claims. | Andrew, who has failed to express regret over his friendship with Epstein, is facing mounting scrutiny amid allegations he had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who had been coerced by the financier when she was 17 and with whom the prince has been pictured. He has strenuously denied her claims. |
| Barclays recently renewed its sponsorship of Pitch@Palace, but is understood to be monitoring the situation, while AstraZeneca’s three-year partnership with the initiative is due to expire at the end of this year and is being reviewed. | Barclays recently renewed its sponsorship of Pitch@Palace, but is understood to be monitoring the situation, while AstraZeneca’s three-year partnership with the initiative is due to expire at the end of this year and is being reviewed. |
| Meanwhile, Outward Bound Trust is holding a board meeting this week to discuss whether Andrew should remain as patron. | Meanwhile, Outward Bound Trust is holding a board meeting this week to discuss whether Andrew should remain as patron. |
| Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia concluded its involvement with Pitch@Palace in October and said it was committed to ensuring its campus remains “a safe and inclusive place to work and study”. | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia concluded its involvement with Pitch@Palace in October and said it was committed to ensuring its campus remains “a safe and inclusive place to work and study”. |
| Bond University was preparing to consider working again with Pitch@Palace in 2020, but “in light of recent events, the university does not intend to seek any further involvement”. Murdoch University in Perth was “reviewing its support of the PitchPalace event in 2020”. | |
| London Metropolitan University will review Andrew’s role as patron at a board of governors meeting next week, and a student panel at Huddersfield University has already passed a motion to lobby the duke to resign as its chancellor. | |
| Separately, the insurance company Aon has asked for its logo to be removed from the Pitch@Palace website, saying it had never been involved in the scheme in any capacity. |