Behind the Story: Journalist who worked on Prince Andrew interview wants to 'keep pressure on'

RTÉ News​

4 days ago

A journalist who worked on a BBC investigation that ultimately saw Prince Andrew interviewed on Newsnight has said she would like to see 'pressure kept on for answers'.
"There's a number of other people continuing, I believe, to investigate relationships around Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine (Maxwell)," Laura Burns told RTÉ's Behind the Story podcast.
"Pressure should be kept on, answers should be given by everybody."
Ms Burns was a producer on BBC Panorama when the corporation aired an interview with Britain's Prince Andrew in 2019. Ms Burns said the interview ultimately went to the Newsnight programme and she handed over months of research to them.
"It was good that Newsnight did the interview," she said.
"Sometimes when you're doing an investigation you get really into the weeds in something and sometimes what you need is just a clear brush.
"Some of Emily [Maitlis]'s questions were really blunt, really straight to the point.
"There was some of them that I read and my jaw dropped and I thought, 'I wouldn't have written a question that way'".
Ms Burns said she believes the collaboration between the teams on Panorama and Newsnight worked well.
"Between her blunt questions and the facts that we were able to bring, there could have been an element of [Buckingham] Palace hoping that by forcing Newsnight into a short timescale that they might get an easier run – I don't think he did an easier run".
Ms Burns had also travelled to the US earlier in 2019 to probe and fact check all the allegations, speaking to many of the people involved.
"We went to the States and drove around knocking on many, many doors," she said.
"We got a mixed reaction – between the programme bring commissioned and us landing on the ground, Epstein had died.
"The mood and the tension had sort of changed considerably – it was also clear there was no longer going to be a trial where a lot of things would come out in the wash and come out in court.
"We managed to track down some victims that even the FBI hadn't approached yet, hadn't contacted yet and had never had an opportunity to talk about the story".
However, Ms Burns said some people were afraid to talk to them.
"Some of the victims talked about their parents chased and knocked off the road and so on," she explained.
"A lot of them did feel under some sort of threat and felt that it wasn't maybe safe for them to speak out.
"There's a lot of darkness to the story".
Ms Burns features in a new book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, by Andrew Lownie.
The book traces the lives of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife through their childhoods, courtship, marriage, divorce, careers, and royal and charitable activities.
It also charts Prince Andrew's business activities and recounts the story of the Yorks' links with Jeffrey Epstein.
Ms Burns said it is important to remember the victims in all of the coverage.
"Whether it's Andrew's book or the Panorama investigation or the Newsnight interview, it's a lot of hard work that goes in on the side of the journalists," she said.
"There's a huge emotional price to be paid there by the victims… their place has to be remembered in the entire story".