Prince Andrew

[Ch49]

I don't know if this has been said before but I think all this uncertainty could be cleared up in an instant - have they asked his protection officers if he was where he was or not ?1

[douglas9401]

Would that be the Keeper of the Condom?

[dannyk13]

I would imagine that there would be some sort of gagging order on protection officers talking about the people they protect.

[anneasquith]

He may have been keeper of the condom, he for sure wasn’t keeper of the deodorant.

[emmie]

official secrets act or something akin to that...

[Ch49]

Yes I agree there must be some sort of gagging order but surely in this instance so much time and money could be saved ?

[naomi24]

Who is going to ask them? No one is under any obligation to answer questions at the moment. If it comes to trial perhaps the protection officers will be asked.

[youngmafbog]

//but surely in this instance so much time and money could be saved ?//

That could be said about many things but I'm pretty sure these officers will be bound by the OSA. You cant just run roughshod over the OSA because you think it will save you a few quid.

[Ken4155]

How about asking those who worked at the place where he was supposed to have been. Surely they would have been bragging down the local for ages about having served members of the Firm?

[WELSHYORKIE]

...and the manager of the Pizza Express....CCTV?

[ichkeria]

Hmm I don't see how that would help.
Depends I suppose on what you mean be "there" :-)

I doubt if they were THAT close ...

[Barsel]

It was a long time ago and unless someone wrote in down in a diary and kept it, who would remember what they were doing that day?

[aelmpvw]

ichkeria 1102
//I doubt if they were THAT close//
now that would be news

[lankeela]

If he was in a public nightclub dancing and schmoozing with a young blonde don't you think someone would have got a photo of it and plastered it all over the newspapers?

[davebro]

//If he was in a public nightclub dancing and schmoozing with a young blonde don't you think someone would have got a photo of it and plastered it all over the newspapers?//

Probably happened so much it no longer rated as "news".

[Teapots1]

It could be that the protection officers had their fun in the other bedroom :0)

[andy-hughes]

Barsel - // It was a long time ago and unless someone wrote in down in a diary and kept it, who would remember what they were doing that day? //

Andrew claims that he does.

He specifically remembered it, he told Emily Maitliss, because he had only been to Woking a couple of times, and visiting a Pizza Hut was a rare enough occurrence for him to have remembered it clearly.

He probably has 'people' to do that for him other times.

[Ken4155]

Beatrice would have been 12 (almost 13) at the time. Surely she'd remember daddy giving her a special treat and taking her to Pizza Express? Not somewhere she'd usually frequent.

[andy-hughes]

Ken - // Beatrice would have been 12 (almost 13) at the time. Surely she'd remember daddy giving her a special treat and taking her to Pizza Express? Not somewhere she'd usually frequent. //

True, although it's unlikely that she is going to speak to any lawyers about it.

However, the same cannot be said for all the staff and public who were there, and they may well have things to advise the lawyers.

Prince Andrew lives in a world where people notice everything he does, and where and when he does it - and there are plenty of them around who will be happy to confirm his version or events.

Or not.

[Gromit]

The artist formerly known as Prince has not been investigated by the UK or US police. He is facing a private prosecution.
I expect his protection officers are not compelled to offer evidence, so none have.

[Barsel]

They've probably all signed the official secrets act.