London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

Idea of Prince Andrew supporting trafficking victims ‘ridiculous’ says Jess Phillips

Idea of Prince Andrew supporting trafficking victims ‘ridiculous’ says Jess Phillips

Labour MP says she ‘can’t see him being welcome’ by charities working with victims of sexual violence

Prince Andrew will not be welcome in any role supporting victims of sex trafficking and shows a sense of entitlement in thinking he has something to offer, according to the Labour MP Jess Phillips.

Phillips, a former Labour leadership contender who campaigns for women’s rights, said the idea that Prince Andrew could help support victims of trafficking was “ridiculous” after he came to a multimillion-pound civil settlement with Virgina Giuffre, who had accused him of sexually assaulting her on three occasions when she was 17, which he denied.

In a joint statement on the settlement, Prince Andrew had pledged to “demonstrate his regret for his association” with the sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein, by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims”.

But Phillips said this was inappropriate, even aside from Giuffre’s allegations, given some of his lawyers’s arguments during the case.

“His response to the case throughout broke every myth and stereotype, from slut shaming to referring to [Giuffre] wanting a payday,” Phillips said.

“The behaviour that has been displayed throughout the last four years does not speak to somebody who could be an ally to victims of sexual violence.”

Phillips also said it was not the responsibility of campaigners and charities working to end violence against women “to offer any redemption”.

“We’ve got a lot on without rehabilitating princes,” she said.

Phillips said the statement had almost certainly had to be agreed with Giuffre’s lawyers but the reality of his words were that they “speak of entitlement”.

“What exactly has Prince Andrew got to offer victims of sexual violence? Does he have any skills? I heard, in genuinely good faith, people working with military charities saying he would turn up to things and have something to contribute. But – even without the accusations against him, unproven as they may be – why do they think we need his help like a white knight on a horse? I can’t see him being welcome.”

Many in the sector suggested charities would prefer not to have a public association with the prince and questioned whether it was appropriate for him to offer.

Jayne Butler, the chief executive of Rape Crisis England & Wales, said offers to support victims and survivors of abuse “do feel cynical when Prince Andrew’s legal team demonstrated so much disrespect for Ms Giuffre and a complete disregard for how their victim-blaming actions would affect other victims and survivors”.

“We would suggest that Prince Andrew instead considers looking into supporting prevention work aimed at perpetrators, rather than suggesting he is in any way placed to support victims,” she added.


Hera Hussain, the founder and head of Chayn, which supports survivors of gender-based violence, said Prince Andrew could “donate anonymously if he truly cares about these causes but he absolutely, irrevocably, should not, under any circumstances use these donations to absolve himself from his conduct outside of the trial or rebuild his image”.

“That would be charity-washing. He should not associate himself with any campaign or charity that works on this very critical and poorly resourced cause,” she added.

One member of a leading organisation said they would be “very surprised” if any charity that supports victims – outside of Giuffre’s Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (Soar) – agreed to accept funds or other support directly from the prince. “It’s not a judgment on his guilt, but it’s important for charities to be seen to do the right thing.”

Several leading charities that support survivors of sex trafficking declined to comment on Prince Andrew’s pledge. Some pointed to the prince’s daughter, Princess Eugenie of York’s involvement in the sector, suggesting that many charities would be unwilling to speak out for fear of undermining her work or alienating other royal patrons. She founded the Anti-Slavery Collective in 2017, an organisation whose mission is raising awareness, including of people in forced sexual exploitation.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Millions of UK Benefit Recipients Receive Payments Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
UK Prime Minister Meets Northern Ireland Leaders in Belfast Over Budget Crisis
Crypto Tax Gains Reach One Point Three Eight Billion Pounds Among UK Investors, HMRC Data Shows
UK Corporate Confidence Rises to Highest Level Since March, Lloyds Survey Shows
Mike Ashley Attacks UK Government Business Rates and Cost-of-Living Policies
Scottish Universities Face Two Hundred Million Pound Annual Funding Gap, Report Warns
Entertainment Figures Urge UK Government to Protect People From AI Voice Cloning
Manchester Airports Group Confirms Customer Data Breached in Cyberattack
Seven Charged Over Vandalism at Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Resort in Scotland
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
×