Newsnight investigation finds no evidence for Prince Andrew's Pizza Express alibi
A Newsnight investigation reports that a Pizza Express internal inquiry found no evidence to support Prince Andrew's alibi for the night he was alleged to have been with Virginia Giuffre. The Met police have refused to confirm whether protection officers were involved.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A Newsnight investigation has revealed that Pizza Express conducted its own internal inquiry into Prince Andrew's claim that he visited its Woking branch on the night he is alleged to have had sex with Virginia Giuffre. The chain's senior management looked into the plausibility of the alibi in 2019, believing it to be a matter of public interest. They concluded they had no evidence to suggest Andrew was there, but also no evidence to suggest he was not there.
Newsnight's own extensive inquiries have found no record of any customer or staff member seeing the prince at the Pizza Express on 10 March 2001. The programme also reviewed the original 2019 interview and found that a small amount of material had not been broadcast. In that unseen footage, Andrew claimed his staff had looked at a diary to establish the details of the day.
The Metropolitan Police have refused to confirm or deny whether any royal protection officers accompanied Andrew to the restaurant on that date, citing national security. The force said that confirming or denying the information would reveal where protection had been afforded to a specific individual other than the King and the Prime Minister. However, the Met has previously referred to Andrew's close protection officers in a separate statement in February, saying it was identifying and contacting former and serving officers who may have worked closely with him.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on the Met to be transparent, saying he could not see how revealing that Andrew had police protection 25 years ago would play into the hands of terrorists. The programme also spoke to Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips, who said she believed her 'survivor sister' Virginia Giuffre and recalled a friend who had told the exact same story of being forced to have sex with a prince.
Prince Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has not responded to Newsnight's latest request for a statement.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC Two |
|---|---|
| Newsnight's research found no record of anyone having seen Prince Andrew at Pizza Express on 10 March 2001. | |
| Pizza Express conducted an internal inquiry into Prince Andrew's alibi and found no evidence he was there. | |
| The Metropolitan Police refused to confirm or deny whether protection officers were at Pizza Express, citing national security. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel focused on its own investigative findings, including the Pizza Express internal inquiry and the Met police's refusal to confirm protection officer details. The tone was neutral but probing, with a strong emphasis on the lack of evidence for Andrew's alibi and the call for transparency from the Lib Dem leader. The programme also included survivor testimony and panel discussion, framing the story as a continuing unresolved question.
- “News nights learned that Pizza Express held its own internal inquiry into ex Prince Andrew's claim He went to the woking branch on that date”
- “The Met police tell Newsnight they can't confirm whether any royal protection officers were at Pizza Express on that date Citing national security”
- “I really can't see how revealing that Andrew had police protection 25 years ago would play into the hands of terrorists as the Met claims”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.