Prince Andrew Says He Has ‘No Recollection’ Of Meeting Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Virginia Roberts

The Duke of York has said he has “no recollection” of meeting the woman who claims she was forced into a sexual encounter with him.

Prince Andrew also said that he “let the side down” over his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as he gave a “no holds barred” interview with BBC Two’s Newsnight programme.

During the interview, filmed at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, the duke faced questions about his links with the disgraced financier, who was found dead in his prison cell in New York earlier this year where he was being held on sex trafficking charges.

Virginia Giuffre is one of 16 women who say they were abused by Epstein, and she has previously claimed in court that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17.

Andrew told the BBC: “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”

He was asked by presenter Emily Maitlis for his response to claims by Giuffre, then known as Virginia Roberts, that “she met you in 2001, she says she dined with you, danced with you at Tramp Nightclub in London. She went on to have sex with you in a house in Belgravia”.

Maitlis added: “You don’t remember meeting her?”, to which Andrew replied: “No.”

Giuffre’s allegations were struck from US civil court records in 2015 after a judge said they were “immaterial and impertinent”.