‘A Step Too Far’: MPs Seek Confirmation if Taxpayers' Funds Used For Prince Andrew Sex Abuse Deal
© AP Photo / Steve Parsons
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Prince Andrew earlier settled a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked out by the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein for sex with the royal on three occasions when she was 17 (a minor by US law.) The Duke of York, who consistently denied all allegations, agreed to pay an unspecified amount to the accuser’s charity.
British MPs are unable to probe whether public money was funnelled into Prince Andrew’s multi-million pound out-of-court settlement with his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre due to an ancient custom barring the discussion of royals in Parliament, reported The Sun.
This has prompted Labour MP Andy McDonald to write to minister Steve Barclay - No.10’s new chief of staff - requesting confirmation that no taxpayer cash was used in this instance.
McDonald, who was cited as warning earlier that “an almighty hue and cry” would be unleashed if it emerged that public money had been dipped into, said:
“That would just be a step too far. I can't predict what form that protest would take… But people would be inordinately upset if taxpayers' monies was used as a payoff for litigation, from a man who was hitherto quite content to be associated with a paedophile [Jeffrey Epstein] and child trafficker [Ghislaine Maxwell]."
“Raising an issue relating to the Royal Family in the House is fraught with difficulties,” the MP for Middlesbrough was cited by the outlet as saying.
Nevertheless, he confirmed he had asked the minister to establish that “no public funds have been or will be used in part or whole in satisfaction of the settlement”.
Earlier, the legislator told the BBC that he intended to bring up the issue when MPs return to Westminster, saying:
"This is a person of very high profile involved in a case where his position of authority and privilege has been allegedly abused and it is an enormous sum of money. We don’t know the precise figure but there is a risk that this will be at the public’s expense so we need to have that resolved. We need to know exactly where this money is coming from."
The Duke of York’s settlement with Giuffre is believed to be worth up to £12 million (over $16 million), with part of the sum said to be donated by Queen Elizabeth II.
After the deal was sealed on 15 February, the parties were expected to file for a dismissal of the case within 30 days. The Duke of York is also expected to make a donation to a charity working with victims of abuse.
17 February 2022, 17:23 GMT
American-Australian woman Virginia Giuffre (nee Roberts) is one of the alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, a US financier who died behind bars while awaiting trial on charges of running a sex trafficking network of minors.
She had filed a civil lawsuit against the Queen’s second son, claiming she had been trafficked out by the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with the royal on three occasions when she was 17 (a minor by US law). Prince Andrew has vehemently denied these claims.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, center, who says she was trafficked by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, holds a news conference outside a Manhattan court
© AP Photo / Bebeto Matthews
Furthermore, up until recently he had been defiant that he would fight the sexual assault allegations in front of a jury to clear his name.
However, in an unexpected twist to the saga, both sides reached a settlement, under which the Duke of York recognised that Giuffre had "suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks".
Britain's Queen Elizabeth arrives with her son Prince Andrew, at Crathie Kirk to attend a Sunday morning church service near Balmoral, Scotland, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019.
© AP Photo / Robert Perry/PA
It is believed that the number mentioned is an insurmountable sum for the embattled Duke of York, who receives a Royal Navy pension and a stipend from the Queen’s Duchy of Lancaster. With this in mind, the UK media previously reported that the monarch herself, whose personal fortune is estimated to be some 360 million pounds ($470 million), is likely to have helped her son foot the bill.
