BBC journalist reveals moment from infamous Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor interview that left her 'gagging'

Journalist Emily Maitlis has opened up about her now-infamous interview with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, which led to the eventual downfall of the royal.

Maitlis gave LiSTNR's The Briefing an insight into the interview that aired in 2019, where she probed the former-prince about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

She also revealed the moment that left her "gagging", courtesy of one word uttered by the then-Duke of York.

The interview included several unforgettable moments, including when Mountbatten-Windsor denied having ever met Virginia Giuffre, despite being presented with a photo of the pair together.

Giuffre accused Andrew of being one of dozens of men who raped her at the hands of Epstein's sex trafficking ring.

Andrew has always denied the allegations.

Maitlis said in hindsight, Jeffrey Epstein's "web of criminality" was "so much bigger" than just one prince.

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"I think the story is so much bigger than one man, one prince, or even one victim – and Virginia Giuffre would be the first person to say this," she told the podcast.

"The whole point of her standing up when she did was to say, 'I need other women to feel that they can speak out.'"

"The fact that we have come to a place now where there are three million documents that all of us are spending countless hours and nights trying to understand is a tribute to the fact she got this right."

She added that she had spoken to Giuffre's brother earlier that day, who revealed the files contain a list of 40 men who allegedly assaulted the then 17-year-old.

"They're saying in those files there's a list of 40 men who Virginia Roberts, as a 17-year-old, was forced to have sex with and she told the FBI about them."

"She told the police about them. They're all sitting there… all their names are there. And so, what are we doing now?"

The journalist also revealed the moment in the interview that shook her to her core, leading her to interrupt the then-prince.

"The biggest battle was getting them to agree to an hour. Once they'd agreed to an hour, it took the pressure off me because I did not want to be the person that was interrupting a senior royal," she explained.

"Particularly because I didn't want to interrupt a man who'd never told his story before in his own words. That was really important to me."

"There is one moment in the interview where I can't help myself. It's when, at the end, he says, [Epstein's] behaviour 'was unbecoming.'"

"I'm almost gagging when he says the word unbecoming and I say, 'Unbecoming?'… he was a sex offender.

"Immediately after that, I remember thinking, 'My God, did I go too far? Did I interrupt? Should I not have said that?'"

Andrew was arrested this week on suspicion of misconduct in public office, which is not related to sexual misconduct, although it is linked to his relationship with Epstein.

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