To support the Duke of York

[LadyLanka]

Just that.
Although he is being asked the wrong questions.

But he was very cagey, so there was a lot left unsaid.

Of course here was because he'd have been briefed for days by lawyers.

He may be considered thick but he did exactly the right thing by not saying things that could make it all worse.

My own view is that he handled most of the interview well. Anyone guilty would have shuffled, sweated,[ he does now sweat] tried to get off the topic, and his body language was open and like someone who had been stupid but not necessarily done what he's accused of.

JinglingHellsBells

What does he have to be cagey about, though? What’s he avoiding saying that would show him in a bad light?

Is it that he accepted massages but not sexual services from young people in his friend’s employ?

Is it that he doesn’t remember significant stints of this time period because he was snorting so much coke?

Is it that he did accept sexual services from someone but he just doesn’t remember whether she was that person?

He wasn’t what I would describe as transparent.

Prince Andrew is what I describe as an odious toad!

Regarding the alleged Pizza Express birthday party on the 10th March 2001 has there been any confirmation from the staff working there at the time? It's not all that long ago, and surely a royal birthday party at Pizza Express in Woking, complete with all the attendant security entourage, would be something they'd remember? Have any of them come forward to confirm Airmiles Andy's version of events?

It's not all that long ago It's 18 years ago! Do you think staff stay at PE that long? It could be verified by his private detectives. He won't have popped out on his own.

March 10 is Prince Edward’s birthday so Andy probably would remember the date.

What I want to know is why these women were sex slaves in a western country in the 21st century and for years. It's not as if they were in Rotherham, or illegal immigrants, or being kept captive in a basement. What's their story and why did they not leave?

Why don’t you look into that? They have spoken openly about their experiences several times.

@JinglingHellsBells of course I feel I have the right to an opinion! So do you, although I assume you also don’t have specific knowledge about the events? I have an opinion informed by my knowledge of the man and his character. Juries only express an opinion after all, based on evidence. They’re not present when the crime is committed. What a strange point to make.

‘If you’re a man it is a positive act to have sex with somebody. You have to... take some sort of positive action and therefore if you try to forget it’s very difficult to try and forget a positive action and I do not remember anything.’

Just found this quote from last night, which I think is very revealing about PA’s attitude to heterosexual sex. The woman is a neutral player apparently.

I used to work in a shop in 2001 and I can clearly remember every single famous person who ever went in there. Even random people not that famous off of the TV. I’m sure someone working in Pizza Express in 2001 would remember a visit from a member of the royal family.

It's not all that long ago It's 18 years ago! Do you think staff stay at PE that long?

No, but if I had served a prince and princess at a Pizza Express I would certainly remember it for many years to come. Wouldn't you? We're not talking some haute cuisine bistro here. I doubt royals were everyday visitors at Pizza Express in Woking.

It could be verified by his private detectives. He won't have popped out on his own.

They would be bound by confidentiality rules - unless of course the case comes to court.

*why did they not leave?

....is a tired old trope that has been used against victims of domestic violence and sexual assault since the beginning of time.

He wasn’t what I would describe as transparent. @churchandstate he said time after time it did not happen. What exactly did you want to hear? I am not defending him but I hate witch hunts and people trying to make a case outside a court.

If he was guilty I do not think for one minute he'd have put himself forward for a 1 hr grilling. No one unless they have wonderful acting skills could carry that off and I don't think he was acting.

I always thought that Rotherham was in a Western country. It seems that I was wrong.

I have no specific knowledge of this issue. But I have met PA (briefly) and met people who know him. He is appalling and no one has a good word to say about him

So you admit you know nothing about it but feel you can comment in a negative way?

This whole thread is people commenting on it who presumably know nothing. My own opinion is no different, but I happen to have heard a lot of negative things about him over the years that suggest to me that these events aren’t unbelievable.

Do you know for sure that he’s innocent? Is your opinion somehow better than mine? If you have positive experiences of him, or know him well and like him possibly, then you are merely doing the same but opposite?

@Tiddlerontheroof I am saying that people should not jump to conclusions and destroy someone's reputation (further) until it comes to court, if it ever does. I cannot bear this trial by media these days which in many cases is unfounded. People just love sticking the knife in public figures they don't like for one reason or another.

I used to work in a shop in 2001 and I can clearly remember every single famous person who ever went in there. Even random people not that famous off of the TV. I’m sure someone working in Pizza Express in 2001 would remember a visit from a member of the royal family.

I will never forget where Monty Don was that evening in spring 1999 when he was on a book tour doing signings.

How does going for a family pizza early evening stop you going out to a night club later on in the evening, or was the pizza that bad he was on the loo all night

What exactly did you want to hear? I am not defending him but I hate witch hunts and people trying to make a case outside a court.

What did I want to hear? I wanted to hear him say the behaviours he is accused of are utterly repugnant to him and that he has never treated anybody with anything other than respect and courtesy, including in Jeffrey Epstein’s homes. I wanted to hear him say he received massages (which he doesn’t seem to deny) from what appeared to him to be salaried, professional masseuses, and when he stood up he put his clothes back on and tipped them handsomely.

But that man doesn’t exist. That man wouldn’t have accepted an invitation to stay at the home of a convicted sex offender.

Maybe it's tired because it's valid

Nope. It’s peddled by men who have been accused of violence or sexual assault and their apologists.

This woman who is accusing him has said nothing about why she lived that life in a rich Western country for years and years. She's after fame and compensation in my view.

Years and years, until she left at the age of 18. She was a child.