A royal biographer has caused a storm after appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain show and defending Prince Andrew over allegations he is a pedophile.
The Prince is currently under investigation for allegedly soliciting prostitution from an underage girl as part of the Jeffrey Epstein sex ring.
Appearing on the show, Lady Colin Campbell, appeared to attempt to lessen the severity of the charges being levied at the Prince by pointing out that Epstein had only been found guilty of soliciting prostitution in 2008 from a minor, which she claimed was not the same as being a pedophile.
She told the shocked presenters:
"You all seem to have forgotten that Jeffrey Epstein, the offense for which he was charged and for which he was imprisoned, was for soliciting prostitution from minors. That is not the same thing as pedophilia."
Host Piers Morgan challenged Lady Campbell on the remarks, stating:
"If you solicited a 14-year-old for prostitution, you're a pedophile. You're procuring an underage girl for sex. That's what he was convicted of. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, with respect, that is nonsense."
Lady Campbell, however, refused to back down, stating that there is a difference between a 'minor' and a 'child'. She went on:
"Was he? 14? Well, I'm not justifying Jeffrey Epstein. Pedophilia, I suspect there's a difference between a minor and a child. You can't criticize someone because they aren't as bright as you would like them to be."
Prince Andrew earlier this year gave an interview to BBC's Newsnight program in which he denied all of the allegations against him. Many viewers were not convinced though by his remarks. Which included a claim that he was at a pizza restaurant the night some of the events are said to have taken place, and that the statement given by the alleged victim is wrong because she said he sweated a lot. The Prince claims that he had a medical condition which meant he cannot sweat or at least could not sweat at the time the events were said to have occurred.
He also denied knowing Virginia Giuffre, even though photographs have emerged of him with the girl. Elaborating on the pizza story the prince recounted:
"Going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do, a very unusual thing for me to do. I've never been… I've only been to Woking a couple of times and I remember it weirdly distinctly."
Prince Andrew is currently suspended from royal duties and was absent from public photographs of his daughter's wedding earlier this month. Ghislaine Maxwell, who is believed to have run the sex-ring with Epstein, is currently facing trial and is being held in a New York prison.
COMMENTS