‘What did the palace know?’ and ‘world wide wobble’
BBC The Daily Mirror asks “what did the palace know?” as it continues its reporting on Prince Andrew. It reports the allegation that the “prince tried to ‘dig dirt’ on his accuser”. Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker is quoted as saying “there are questions that others in the Royal Family need to answer”. Elsewhere,…
BBC
Metro
Once again many papers focus on the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew. The Sun picks up on fresh allegations made by Virginia Giuffre in her posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl. The paper says that in the book she accuses the prince’s team of “hiring internet trolls to tarnish her name” after she made sex abuse allegations, which Andrew has always denied.
“What did the palace know?” asks the Daily Mirror on its front page. It says an allegation that the prince asked a police protection officer to find out information about Ms Giuffre has sparked a “new crisis”. The palace tells the paper that the accusations should be “examined in the appropriate way”.
The Daily Mail asks how Prince Andrew can afford to stay in Royal Lodge, a mansion owned by the Crown Estate in Windsor. The Times says it’s seen the leasehold agreement for the “30-room” property, and that he has paid only a ‘peppercorn’ rent each year since 2003.
A former chair of the public accounts committee tells the paper “The Crown Estate is owned by us”, and the onus is on those running it to “maximise our income out of it”. In its analysis, the Guardian says the “optics are bad; a disgraced prince living in the luxury of a huge Crown Estate property”.
The Daily Telegraph says Prince Andrew has been deemed a “potential national security risk” because of links to alleged Chinese spies. It says multiple sources have told the paper that “concerns” were raised by the security services as long ago as 2021. The article highlights what it calls the prince’s “repeated meetings” with suspected spy Yang Tengbo. The prince has previously said nothing sensitive was ever discussed, and that he cut off ties after concerns were raised. Yang Tengbo denies spying.
The i Paper devotes its front page to the development of a bionic chip that helps “blind patients to regain sight”. It says there are hopes the technology could become available on the NHS.
One patient can read again after taking part in the clinical trial. She tells the paper: “Reading takes you into another world. I am definitely more optimistic.”
