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Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre asks UK public to stand by her ‘Help me fight this fight’: Giuffre in plea to public over Prince Andrew scandal
(about 5 hours later)
Giuffre tells Panorama she was instructed to have sex with royal by Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Ghislaine Maxwell Giuffre tells BBC Panorama she was instructed to have sex with royal by Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Ghislaine Maxwell
Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked as a teenager to have sex with friends of Jeffrey Epstein, including the Duke of York, has implored the British public to “stand by her” and “not accept this as OK” in her first UK television interview. A beleaguered Prince Andrew faced fresh embarrassment after his accuser Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked as a teenager to have sex with him, appeared on television to implore the public to “not accept this as being OK”.
Giuffre, who alleges she had sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions in 2001 and 2002 when she was 17 years old, told Panorama she stood by her claims she was instructed to have sex with the royal by Ghislaine Maxwell, socialite and close friend of Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who killed himself in August. In her first UK broadcast interview, Giuffre repeated allegations she had sex with the prince when she was aged 17 on the instructions of Ghislaine Maxwell, a socialite and close friend of US financier and sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in August.
The prince, 59, has consistently denied the allegation. The prince, 59, whose relationship with Epstein has led to him standing down from public duties, has consistently and categorically denied the allegations, which Buckingham Palace said were “false and without foundation”.
In the programme The Prince and the Epstein Scandal, screening at 9pm on Monday on BBC One, Giuffre, then called Virginia Roberts, repeated her claim she had sex with Andrew after he bought her a drink and asked her to dance at Tramp nightclub in London. BBC Panorama said it had uncovered a 2015 email from Andrew to Maxwell asking for help dealing with the allegations by Giuffre, previously Virginia Roberts.
She said: “He is the most hideous dancer I’ve ever seen in my life. I mean it was horrible and this guy was sweating all over me, like his sweat was like it was raining basically everywhere. I was just like grossed out from it, but I knew I had to keep him happy because that’s what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would have expected from me.” He wrote: “Let me know when we can talk. Got some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts.” Maxwell replied: “Have some info. Call me when you have a moment.”
She alleged that after they left the club: “In the car Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey and that just made me sick.” She alleges that she had sex with Andrew upstairs at Maxwell’s house in Belgravia later that evening. In the interview, broadcast on Monday, Giuffre said: “I implore the people in the UK to stand up beside me, to help me fight this fight, to not accept this as being OK.
Giuffre was interviewed by Panorama last month. Before it was ready to air, the prince agreed to an interview with BBC’s Newsnight. The fallout from that disastrous interview led to him being forced to withdraw from public life.
Though Giuffre does not directly address Andrew’s account in her interview, which had already been filmed, she has since told Panorama she stands by every word.
In his interview with Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis last month, Andrew said: “I can categorically tell you it never happened. I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady – none whatsoever.” He claimed he had a medical condition that meant he did not sweat, and argued sex could not have taken place, insisting he had been at a Pizza Express in Woking on the same day.
Asked about a photo that appears to show him with his arm around Giuffre’s waist, the prince said he did not recall the photograph being taken, and raised questions in the interview over whether it was his hand.
Giuffre told Panorama: “The people on the inside are going to keep coming up with these ridiculous excuses like his arm was elongated or the photo was doctored. I mean I’m calling BS on this. He knows what happened. I know what happened. And there’s only one of us telling the truth.”
She said: “I implore the people in the UK to stand up beside me, to help me fight this fight, to not accept this as being OK.
“This is not some sordid sex story. This is a story of being trafficked. This is a story of abuse and this is a story of your guy’s royalty.”“This is not some sordid sex story. This is a story of being trafficked. This is a story of abuse and this is a story of your guy’s royalty.”
Panorama’s The Prince and the Epstein Scandal, claimed five of Epstein’s victims, who are suing the financier’s estate, want Andrew to give witness evidence in their court cases, and that subpoenas could be served if he visits the United States. Lawyers for the victims have twice written to the royal requesting an interview, but have yet to receive a response, it said.
Giuffre, repeated her claims she was instructed to have sex with Andrew after he bought her a drink and asked her to dance at Tramp nightclub in London in 2001.
Of that alleged encounter, she said Andrew was “the most hideous dancer I’ve ever seen in my life” and that she was “grossed out” because “this guy was sweating all over me … his sweat was like it was raining basically”.
After they left the club, she claimed, Maxwell told her “I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey, and that just made me sick”. She alleges later that evening, she had sex with Andrew at Maxwell’s house in Belgravia.
Giuffre was interviewed by Panorama last month. Before it was ready to air, the prince agreed to an interview with BBC’s Newsnight. The fallout from that disastrous interview led to him being forced to withdraw from public life.
Though Giuffre does not directly address Andrew’s account in her interview, which had already been filmed, Panorama said she stood by every word.
In his Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, Andrew said: “I can categorically tell you it never happened. I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady – none whatsoever.” He claimed he had a medical condition that meant he did not sweat, and argued sex could not have taken place insisting he had been at a Pizza Express in Woking on the same day.
Asked about a 2001 photograph that appears to show him with his arm around Giuffre’s waist, the prince said he did not recall it being taken, saying: “That’s me, but whether that’s my hand”. He added that it was difficult to prove if it was fake or not because “it’s a photograph of a photograph of a photograph”.
Giuffre said the now infamous photograph, first published in 2011 by the Mail on Sunday, which paid her $160,000 for her story, was genuine. She said she gave the original to the FBI in 2011.
The programme claimed a redacted court document shows she gave 20 photos to the FBI, which were scanned front and back. But only 19 photos were shown in the publicly available documents. Panorama had been told two missing reference numbers related to the Andrew photo, and that it was removed from the public document to protect his privacy.
Another of Epstein’s victims, Sarah Ransome, alleged in Panorama that Maxwell “controlled the girls. She was like the madam. She was like the nuts and bolts of the sex trafficking operation.”
Maxwell has denied the allegations made against her. She has not been seen in public for months, amid speculation over her continued contact with the prince.Maxwell has denied the allegations made against her. She has not been seen in public for months, amid speculation over her continued contact with the prince.
Buckingham Palace has said the duke “unequivocally regrets his ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein” and that Andrew “deeply sympathises with those affected who want some form of closure”. It said: “It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.” Buckingham Palace has said the prince “unequivocally regrets his ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein”, and that he “deeply sympathises with those affected who want some form of closure”. It added: “It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”
The Panorama programme is broadcast as the prince faces calls for a parliamentary inquiry into his business dealings after the Mail on Sunday claimed he had been enabling a friend’s business interests while working as a British trade envoy. Giuffre’s interview was broadcast as the prince faces calls for a parliamentary inquiry into his business dealings, after the Mail on Sunday claimed he had been enabling a friend’s business interests while working as a British trade envoy.
The newspaper said it had seen a cache of documents, including leaked emails, about Andrew’s links with David Rowland, and claimed the duke had been helping his business interests, including promoting his private bank, while a trade envoy for Britain. The newspaper said it had seen a cache of documents, including leaked emails, about Andrew’s links with David Rowland, and claimed the prince had been helping his business interests, including promoting his private bank, while a trade envoy for Britain.