21 Nov 2019

Prince Andrew steps back from public life

From Morning Report, 7:17 am on 21 November 2019

Prince Andrew has announced he is to step back from public life.

Duke of York said in a statement he is stepping back from royal duties for the "foreseeable future" due to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

He also says he is willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.

Prince Andrew said his links with the convicted sex offender had become a "major disruption" to the Royal Family.

In a statement, he said he deeply sympathised with Epstein's victims and "everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure".

It comes as the Duke has faced a growing backlash after a BBC interview.

Earlier, a letter written to the Times newspaper by Buckingham Palace cast doubt on when the duke first met Epstein.

The 2011 letter says they met in the early 1990s, not in 1999 as Prince Andrew said in his BBC interview.

London Correspondent Natalie Powell spoke to Morning Report.