BT threat as fall-out spreads over Andrew's Epstein links

BT threat as fall-out spreads over Andrew's Epstein links

British telecoms giant BT on Wednesday threatened to end its backing for an awards scheme unless Prince Andrew was dropped as patron, in the latest fall-out from the royal's interview about paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.


BT has been working with Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA) since its launch in 2017 to develop digital enterprise and employability skills.


Queen Elizabeth II's second son is patron but has come under increasing pressure since he defended his friendship with Epstein in a BBC television interview broadcast last weekend.


Since the interview aired, the 59-year-old prince has been accused of lacking empathy for Epstein's victims, and there have also been questions about his lavish taxpayer-funded lifestyle.


Some British media outlets have suggested that what is developing into the most high-profile royal scandal in years could even make it a second "Annus Horribilis" for the ageing monarch.


The queen used the term in a 1992 speech to refer to a year in which her Windsor Castle residence caught fire, both Andrew and her eldest son and heir Charles separated from their respective wives, and her only daughter, Anne, got divorced.


Last month, her grandson Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, announced plans to sue media outlets for alleged phone hacking and breach of privacy.


A BT spokesman said it had only dealt with iDEA's executive directors rather than the prince, who has also been accused of using racist language in a separate incident.


But he added: "In the light of recent developments we are reviewing our relationship with the organisation and hope that we might be able to work further with them, in the event of a change in their patronage."


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