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Prince Andrew says he is ‘stepping back’ from royal duties over Epstein scandal and offers to help police
PRINCE Andrew tonight sensationally QUIT royal duties over the fallout from his car-crash Jeffrey Epstein interview.
The Queen's favourite son announced he asked the monarch for permission to 'step back' from royal life and is ready to help cops investigating the dead paedo.
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In a bombshell statement the Prince said: "It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support.
"Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.
"I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.
"His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure.
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"I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives.
"Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required."
The extraordinary development comes after four days of outrage over the prince's ill-advised interview with the BBC, which has already seen several sponsors and charities pull the plug on their connections to the royal.
The Duke of York spoke about his links with the disgraced millionaire during an "unvetted questions" interview with BBC2 Newnight's Emily Maitlis on Saturday.
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During the "car crash" interview, Andrew denied he had sex with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts in 2001 after going to Tramp nightclub in London, claiming he was at a Pizza Express in Woking with his daughter Princess Beatrice.
Virginia, now 35 and known as Virginia Giuffre, named Andrew in documents related to Epstein filed in Florida in 2015.
She said she was forced to have sex with the Duke at 17, which is under the age of consent in the state.
A judge later struck out her claims, saying they were "immaterial and impertinent".
In the BBC2 interview, Maitlis described Virginia’s allegations that Andrew bought her drinks in Tramp, they had sex and he “sweated profusely”.
Andrew said: “I’ve no recollection of meeting her. In fact I’m convinced I was never in Tramp with her. There are a number of things wrong with that story, one of which is that I don’t know where the bar is in Tramp. I don’t drink.
Who is Virginia Roberts?
- Mum-of-three Virginia Roberts, now Virginia Giuffre, 36, has alleged that she was procured by Ghislaine Maxwell - Epstein’s ex-lover - to work as a 'sex slave'
- Ms Roberts alleges she met Ms Maxwell while working at Donald Trump's Mar-aLago resprt in Florida.
- Legal documents from a 2015 defamation case - released the day before Epstein killed himself - featured claims that Prince Andrew slept with Ms Roberts three times.
- The Duke of York strongly denies the allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.
- Giuffre says her account is '99 per cent true' but her own former lawyers have described it as 'fictionalised.'
- She claims she first met royal dad-of-two Prince Andrew on a trip to London in 2001 when she was 17 and Epstein and Maxwell were also there.
“I don’t think I’ve ever bought a drink in Tramp."
The 59-year-old was slammed after saying he didn't regret his friendship with Epstein, who he referred to as "Jeffrey", because he met "useful" people through him.
Prince Andrew described his pal's behaviour as a convicted sex offender as "unbecoming".
US lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who represents three of Epstein’s victims, told The Sun: "There was a sense of astonishment from them about the interview.
"Prince Andrew said he didn’t regret the friendship with Epstein because this child molester was able to introduce him to some important people. That just baffled me."
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In the BBC2 interview, Maitlis described Virginia’s allegations that Andrew bought her drinks in Tramp, they had sex and he “sweated profusely”.
Andrew said: “I’ve no recollection of meeting her. In fact I’m convinced I was never in Tramp with her.
"There are a number of things wrong with that story, one of which is that I don’t know where the bar is in Tramp. I don’t drink.
"I don’t think I’ve ever bought a drink in Tramp.
In the primetime BBC interview, Andrew said: "Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes."
Ms Maitlis replied: "Unbecoming? He was a sex offender."
He clarified: "Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m being polite, I mean in the sense that he was a sex offender."
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Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts describes 'having sex with Prince Andrew aged 17' in Ghislaine Maxwell's London townhouse in her first TV interview
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