London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Prince Andrew: Charities' concerns over prince's offer to support victims

Prince Andrew: Charities' concerns over prince's offer to support victims

Charities working with survivors of abuse say they have "significant concerns" about the Duke of York's offer to support trafficking victims.

Prince Andrew made the pledge after settling the US civil sexual assault case brought by Virginia Giuffre, and agreeing to pay her an undisclosed sum.

He made no admission of liability and has always denied the allegations.

Labour MP Jess Phillips has expressed doubt Andrew could play a constructive role in combating trafficking.

"Those who work in sexual violence [and] human trafficking services are certainly not going to have open arms to his allyship... even if it was just finances," she said.

Ms Giuffre had been suing Andrew in a civil action, claiming he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17 - which the prince has repeatedly denied.

On Tuesday it was announced they had reached an out-of-court settlement.

A statement from their lawyers said the duke would pay an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre and make a "substantial donation" to her charity in support of victims' rights.

It also said the duke regretted his association with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew had previously told BBC Newsnight in 2019 he did not regret being friends with Epstein.

No details of the payout to Ms Giuffre have been made public - and there are calls for more detail about where the money will come from.

The exact amount of the financial settlement has not been revealed but reports have speculated that it could run into millions of pounds. The duke receives a Royal Navy pension and a stipend from the Queen's Duchy of Lancaster income.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Andrew also pledged to "demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims".

Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac), said: "Napac acknowledges and is grateful to the many generous fundraisers and donors who are survivors or supporters of survivors themselves," she added.

"With this trust being core to Napac's approach, any support for the charity that Prince Andrew may offer would raise significant concerns as to the ethical implications of accepting money or patronage from an individual who is a suspected perpetrator and who had ties to a convicted offender."

Beyond the Streets, a charity working to end sexual exploitation, said it was unlikely it would accept any support offered by Andrew.

"We think the priority of organisations who support women who have been exploited should be on their beneficiaries and not on the profile and activities of those who support them," a spokesperson said.

"This is particularly important in situations such as this where it could be perceived that there is a benefit to the potential supporter and there have been serious accusations involved."

Jayne Butler, chief executive of Rape Crisis England and Wales said while it had not been offered any support, financial or otherwise by Andrew or Ms Giuffre, it would not do so "without consulting with our Rape Crisis member centres and with survivors".

Ms Phillips, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour: "It's going to take a huge amount of effort and I think it will be incredibly hard for Prince Andrew to make that effort."

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts - now Virginia Giuffre - and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001


Ms Giuffre, now 38, claims she was the victim of sex trafficking and abuse by financier Epstein from the age of 16. Epstein died while awaiting trial in 2019.

She claimed the duke sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions in London, New York, and on Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.

In a 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight, Prince Andrew said he didn't recall meeting Ms Giuffre and that an incident in which she alleges they had sex at the Belgravia home of Ghislaine Maxwell "didn't happen".

In January, a New York court ruled that the civil action against him could go ahead.

Shortly afterwards, Buckingham Palace said the prince's military titles and royal patronages had been returned to the Queen and that he would defend Ms Giuffre's civil case as a "private citizen".

Is there any way back for Prince Andrew?

If Prince Andrew had gone to court in the US to fight it out with Virginia Giuffre, it would have made headlines as tall as a New York skyscraper.

That royal disaster zone has been averted by an out-of-court settlement.

But it comes with high costs to Prince Andrew, both financial and reputational, and it will be a long road back before there is any chance of clearing his name in terms of public opinion.


Watch: What did Prince Andrew say about Virginia Giuffre's allegations in the 2019 Newsnight interview?


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×