Prince Andrew has released an extraordinary statement, announcing he will be stepping back from public duties amid the fall-out from his BBC interview about his friendship with the sex offender Jeremy Epstein. The Duke of York said he had the support of his mother, the Queen, over his decision. You can read the statement in full below.

Prince Andrew statement in FULL

“It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support.

“Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.

“I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.

“His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure.

“I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”

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The Duke’s decision comes after he cancelled at the last moment a visit to Yorkshire where he was due to meet residents impacted by the devastating floods in Fishlake and Stainforth.

The Palace said: “The Duke was due to attend to offer his support and thanks to the emergency services but with an election campaign and a politician also visiting it was not appropriate for the visit to continue.”

The Duke of York was grilled by Emily Maitlis about his relationship with Epstein in a BBC Newsnight interview at the weekend.

The interview was branded a PR disaster – leaving Andrew facing a backlash on social media.

Asked whether he regretted the friendship, Andrew said: “Now, still not and the reason being is that the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn either by him or because of him were actually very useful.

“He himself not, as it were, as close as you might think, we weren’t that close.

“So therefore I mean yes I would go and stay in his house but that was because of his girlfriend, not because of him.”

Prior to the interview, Andrew had only released prepared statements through Buckingham Palace, which stated: “Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.

“It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”

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