Emily Maitlis: Is Prince Andrew guilty of sex offences? We may never know

Prince Andrew appears on BBC Newsnight with Emily Maitlis in November 2019. Photo / BBC

Emily Maitlis has claimed that no one will ever know whether the Duke of York is guilty of sex offences.

The former BBC journalist said the question of whether she personally thought Prince Andrew had slept with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, was one she had not articulated since she interviewed him on Newsnight in 2019.

But as Ruth Wilson, the actress, prepared to play Maitlis in a new three-part drama depicting the circumstances surrounding the interview, she asked her directly what she thought.

“I have had plenty of occasions – and more opportunity than most – to consider Andrew’s ‘guilt’, but the question has always struck me as imprecise,” Maitlis wrote in The Times. “So I throw it back at Wilson. Guilty of what?”

Emily Maitlis says there is no way of knowing if Prince Andrew is guilty. Photo / Getty Images

She said the pair debated the issue, adding: “I tell her there is no way I or anyone else will ever know the full truth of what happened with or to Virginia Giuffre, the trafficked Jeffrey Epstein victim who claims she was also abused by the royal.

“But he was clearly guilty of other things – his continued friendship with Epstein after his arrest, his flat-footed response to the victims of sex trafficking.”

Maitlis said that the duke’s failure to express any regret over his friendship or empathy for his victims was “not proof of Andrew’s own criminal behaviour”.

Instead, she said it told a story of “power and unchecked privilege” and “perhaps it tells a story of what happens when our royals have no right of reply”.

Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell appeared in Netflix film Scoop, based on Prince Andrew's BBC interview. Photo / Netflix

‘Explore the essence of Andrew’

A Very Royal Scandal, released on Amazon Prime Video in September, tells the story of the duke’s disastrous Newsnight interview over three episodes.

Maitlis said it would “explore the essence of Andrew, the things he had taken for granted his whole life and how they had shaped him and maybe, ultimately, destroyed him”.

It will also take a broader look at the decisions made by the Newsnight team ahead of the interview and focus heavily on Maitlis’ role.

The broadcaster revealed that Wilson wanted to know everything from what was in her handbag to whether she wore a dressing gown for breakfast.

The writers also asked Maitlis how her children got to school and what she listens to when she is running.

The fallout from the interview brought an abrupt end to the duke’s royal career. He has continued to insist that he has no recollection of meeting Giuffre.

Maitlis admitted that despite it all, he had impressed her with his willingness to tell his story.

“In an age of populism and duplicity, he had maintained a kind of old-fashioned valour that brought him to the wicket, as he might have said,” she wrote. “No pads.”