Advertisement

Tuesday morning news briefing: Prince Andrew's 'zero co-operation'

The Duke of York attends a church service earlier this month - Copyright (c) 2020 Shutterstock. No use without permission.
The Duke of York attends a church service earlier this month - Copyright (c) 2020 Shutterstock. No use without permission.

If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here. For two-minute audio updates, try The Briefing - on podcasts, smart speakers and WhatsApp.

Duke of York has failed to co-operate, claims FBI

He had said he would talk to investigators if required. But the Duke of York has given the FBI "zero co-operation" following its requests for an interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, it has been claimed. Geoffrey Berman, a US attorney, said federal prosecutors and the FBI had asked to interview Prince Andrew about the late paedophile billionaire, but had been met with a wall of silence. As Victoria Ward reports, Mr Berman - who is leading an investigation into Epstein's possible co-conspirators - was speaking at the disgraced financier's former New York home to promote a law that makes it easier for victims to sue over childhood abuse. Buckingham Palace declined to comment, but a source said the issue was being dealt with by the Duke's legal team.

The Duke was removed from public duties in November after a disastrous television interview focusing on claims he slept with a teenager who was trafficked to London by Epstein. Virginia Roberts Giuffre has alleged that she had sex with the Duke three times at Epstein's request. The Duke vehemently denied the claim and said he had no recollection of meeting her. This video explains how Ms Giuffre's and the Duke's version of events compare. And Anna Pasternak explains what life will be like for Prince Andrew as a royal outcast.

Smart motorways: Road chiefs face criminal claims

Highways England is facing a police investigation over deaths on smart motorways after ministers claimed safety warnings had been repeatedly ignored. The widow of a driver killed on a smart motorway has made formal allegations of criminal corporate manslaughter against the roads agency. It comes as a damning report by a group of MPs finds today that the "shocking and careless" introduction of the scheme has cost lives. A series of transport ministers told The Telegraph they had repeatedly warned Highways England officials the scheme posed a danger to drivers. Bill Gardner has the background to the scandal of wasted lives.

A very British stir over how to phrase a coin

For a time it seemed nothing could divide the nation more than Brexit. But even that most seismic of issues is being dwarfed by a coin, a quote and a comma. The new 50p coin commemorating Brexit has caused a very British conundrum as fans and critics vied over the absence of the Oxford comma from its phrase. Author Sir Philip Pullman led the charge, calling for "all literate people" to boycott the coins. View pictures of the coin - due to go into circulation on Friday. Meanwhile, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has prompted outrage days before Brexit by saying that Britain must "come to terms with the fact it's now a small country".

News digest

Gallery: The big picture

Day of tears | A survivor grieves during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Auschwitz "death wall", where prisoners were executed, on the 75th anniversary of the concentration camp's liberation. Read Camilla Tominey's dispatch from Poland and view more pictures of the day.

Survivors gathered at the spot where more than a million Jews were killed - Credit: Alamy Live News 
Survivors gathered at the spot where more than a million Jews were killed Credit: Alamy Live News

Comment

Editor's choice

  1. Pop princess | How Billie Eilish created an empire from her bedroom

  2. Royal revolutionary | Meet Lady Penny - a thoroughly modern Mountbatten

  3. Baghdad Central | The remarkable real life story of 'Morse of the Middle East'

Business and money briefing

Retail woes | The crisis on the high street could result in a fifth of all retail space disappearing, one of the UK's biggest landlords has warned. British Land chief executive Chris Grigg predicted that the troubles facing bricks-and-mortar retailers were far from over.

Sport briefing

'Now we have the X-factor' | After their fourth Test victory, Ben Stokes believes England have discovered the template for regaining the Ashes. Read Scyld Berry's verdict from Johannesburg.

And finally...

Women 'left out of the picture' | Bodily beauty has inspired many masterpieces, with geniuses from antiquity to the Renaissance moved to depict the naked human form. But bared beauties from Aphrodite to Adam and Eve have raised a few questions as well as sighs of admiration. Now Prof Mary Beard has suggested that visitors should not just ogle art in amazement, but reflect on whether the numerous nudes are nothing more than "soft porn for the elite"