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Newspaper headlines: Prince Andrew’s ‘extraordinary’ TV interview
Many papers lead on Prince Andrew’s interview with the BBC, which is being broadcast on Saturday night. The i newspaper calls the interview “extraordinary” and a “high-risk strategy for the royals”. The paper says the Duke of York – the Queen’s son – admitted “his shame” about his continued friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, who took his own life earlier this year while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Saturday’s Daily Mirror also leads with the “TV grilling” of Prince Andrew, saying the duke revealed he “kicks himself every day” for having continued being friends with Epstein. The paper says he also denied having sex with Virginia Roberts – now Virginia Giuffre – who claims she was forced to have sex with the duke three times between 1999 and 2002.
The Daily Mail describes Prince Andrew’s decision to speak to the BBC as a “make or break” TV interview. The duke says he regretted going to stay with Epstein in New York after he was released from prison. “The problem was the fact that once he had been convicted, I stayed with him,” the duke said.
The Daily Telegraph says the interview comes after “years of scrutiny” over Prince Andrew’s links to billionaire financier Epstein. According to the paper, royal sources said the duke had decided to give the interview in the hope it might “draw a line” under the scandal before he turns 60 next year. He is understood to have overruled aides who warned the move was a “bad idea”, the paper adds.
Prince Andrew said he had “no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever,” when asked about Virginia Giuffre’s allegations that she had sex with him in 2001 in London, the Times says. The paper also includes a comment from Ms Giuffre’s lawyer, who says he wants to see the duke “submit to an interview under oath”, adding: “Talking to the media doesn’t quite cut it.”
The Daily Express also leads with the interview, alongside a large picture of it taking place at Buckingham Palace earlier this week. The duke “acknowledges his conduct fell below the standards expected when he stayed friends” with Epstein, the paper says.
The Sun describes Prince Andrew as “grovelling” as he apologised for staying friends with Epstein. The paper calls the BBC Newsnight interview a “TV bombshell”, and “the most astonishing royal TV moment since Diana spoke about the breakdown of her and Charles’s marriage”.
The Financial Times is one of a few papers not leading with Prince Andrew. Instead, the FT focuses on Labour’s promise to give every home and business in the UK free full-fibre broadband by 2030, nationalising part of BT in the process. In the wake of Labour’s announcement, the UK’s telecoms industry has warned of an investment freeze, the paper says.
The Guardian also focuses on the response to Labour’s plan to nationalise part of BT, including Boris Johnson’s view that it’s a “crazed communist scheme”. Labour believes the promise of free broadband, which would be part funded by a tax on internet giants like Facebook, is a “vote winner”, the paper says.
The Daily Star looks ahead to the start of this year’s series of ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. Former footballer Ian Wright, who will appear as one of the stars in the jungle when it airs on Sunday, says he is a serial sleepwalker, the paper reports.
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