Prince Andrew was interviewed by Emily Maitlis on Newsnight in 2019
(Picture: PA)Emily Maitlis has said Prince Andrew’s settlement with his rape accuser seems to contradict claims he made in a now-infamous Newsnight interview.
During the 2019 interview, the Duke of York denied knowledge of ever having met Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was forced by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with the prince when she was 17.
Andrew claimed that he could not possibly have had intercourse with Ms Giuffre on one particular occasion because he was at Pizza Express in Woking.
He also claimed he was unable to sweat after she said she saw him sweating while they were together in Tramp nightclub.
The duke has now reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre, who had been suing him in a New York civil court.
Reports suggest the payout could be as high as £12m. There is no admission of liability on Prince Andrew’s part, who had strenuously denied wrong-doing.
Writing for the BBC, Ms Maitlis said the payout was surprising given Andrew’s claims that he did not remember meeting Ms Giuffre.
She said: “There are only three possible explanations then for the settlement: Either he was lying in that response - and remembered her well.
“Or he genuinely had no recollection - and was adamant they hadn't met - only for his memory subsequently to be jogged.
“Or that he maintains his innocence, but feels the weight of legal and public opinion against him now make settling the easier option, albeit without accepting any liability.”
In the settlement, the duke said he “never intended to malign Ms Giuffre's character,” and that he accepted “she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks”.
He added that he regretted his association with Epstein, and intended to support “the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims,” to express that regret.
During the 2019 Newsnight interview the duke told Ms Maitlis he did not regret his association with Epstein because the “opportunities” given to him as a result were useful.
He told the presenter that his decision to stay at Epstein’s Manhattan home after Epstein had been convicted of a child sex offence was “probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable”.
Admitting her journalistic disappointment that there won’t be a trial, Ms Maitlis said: “But maybe he believed it.
“His code of honour was to the male friends in his life, and not to the women in the background. We will never know.”
Ms Maitlis’ comments come amid growing calls for the source of Ms Giuffre’s payout to be made public.
According to reports, the Queen has agreed to contribute by making a £2 million donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity.
A source told the Mirror: “She could not be seen to be making a payment to a victim of sexual assault, who accused her son of being an abuser.
“But a deal was structured in such a way to arrange a sizeable financial contribution to the settlement by way of a charitable donation instead.”
However, this has not been confirmed by Buckingham Palace or a spokeswoman for Prince Andrew, who have so far declined to comment on the payout.
