Emily Maitlis
BBC journalist: The contradictions between Prince Andrew’s interview and his statement
Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew during the iconic BBC interview
© Mark Harrison / Picture Alliance
During her interview with Prince Andrew, the royal seemed nervous and ill-advised. Now journalist Emily Maitlis reveals how she assesses the agreement between him and Virginia Giuffre.
It was an interview like a car accident. When Prince Andrew answered questions from BBC journalist Emily Maitlis in November 2019, not only royal fans watched as Queen Elizabeth II’s son talked about his head and neck.
Prince Andrew: The agreement is contradictory to interview statements
At the time, Maitlis asked Andrew about his meeting with Virginia Giuffre (then Roberts). Andrew faltered, saying the meeting “didn’t happen.” Then he explained that the reports that he had sweated profusely while dancing in a nightclub could not be true. Since his deployment in the Falklands War, he is no longer able to sweat. After his out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, Maitlis looks back on the legendary conversation in a report for the BBC – and points out the contradictions.
“At the heart of the settlement is the biggest question of all: why is a prince who told me he could not remember ever meeting this woman now paying her over £10m?” she wondered . “I distinctly remember speaking to him directly about Virginia Giuffre’s allegations: ‘She says she met you in 2001, had dinner with you, danced with you, you bought her Tramp drinks at the nightclub, and then she had sex with you in a house in Belgravia.’ And I now have the prince’s answer in front of me. Just three words: ‘It didn’t happen.'” she writes.
Journalist is disappointed
There are three options for her: Either the prince lied to her at the time. Or Giuffre’s accusation has now shaken his memory, “or he maintains his innocence, but believes that the weight of legal and public opinion against him is now the easier option to come to an agreement, even if he does not accept responsibility “, explains Maitlis.
From a journalistic point of view, she was disappointed that the case would not be brought before the civil court. Because then some of the questions might have been clarified.
source: BBC
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