this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 10... prince andrew speaks publicly for the first time about his friendship with the convicted sex offender, jeffrey epstein. in an exclusive interview with bbc newsnight, the duke says it was wrong to stay at epstein‘s house, and admits he let "the side down". i had to believe that myjudgment was probably coloured by my tendency to bleed to honourable but that's just the way it is. prince andrew also said he had "no recollection" of meeting virginia roberts, who claims she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17

after being groomed by epstein. he denies any inappropriate conduct. in other news, scotland yard is investigating claims of electoral fraud, after the brexit party said its candidates had been offered inducements by conservatives to stand down. out on the general election campaign trail, the conservatives and the liberal democrats make promises to plant millions more trees to tackle climate change. two people have been hurt in a large fire at a student accommodation building in bolton. more than 200 firefighters were brought in to tackle the blaze at 10:30am, the travel show heads to japan to seek out the country's ancient burial mounds.

good morning. welcome to bbc news. in an unprecedented interview, prince andrew has told the bbc that he let the royal family down by staying at the home of the convicted sex offender, jeffrey epstein. speaking to newsnight‘s emily maitlis at buckingham palace, the duke addressed accusations that he'd had sex with a 17—year—old american girl. he said he couldn't remember meeting virginia roberts and denies allegations of inappropriate conduct. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell reports. he is continuing with royal duties. last sunday, he was at the cenotaph, laying a wreath with his nephews. and yet, for month after month, he's been the focus of troubling questions. prince andrew, the queen's second son, one moment seen waving from the doorway of the new york home of a convicted child sex offender, jeffrey epstein, and photographed strolling through central park with him. buckingham palace has consistently denied any impropriety by prince andrew. now, he's decided to speak for himself to bbc newsnight‘s emily maitlis. but you were staying at the house of a convicted sex offender.

yes. it was a convenient place to stay. i mean, i've gone through this in my mind so many times. at the end of the day, with the benefit of all the hindsight that one could have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do but at the time i felt it was the honourable and right thing to do. and i admit fully that myjudgement was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that's just the way it is. and then there's andrew's alleged friendship with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts, who was on epstein‘s payroll. she's alleged that andrew seduced her. one of epstein‘s accusers, virginia roberts, has made allegations against you. she says she met you in 2001.

she says she dined with you, danced with you at tramp nightclub in london. she went on to have sex with you in a house in belgravia, belonging to ghislaine maxwell, your friend. your response? i have no recollection of ever meeting this lady. none whatsoever. you don't remember meeting her? no. it was in 2001, according to virginia roberts, that she had sex with andrew on three occasions, including one orgy. the palace has denied that. in 2008, epstein was convicted of procuring for prostitution a girl under the age of 18. he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. it was in 2010, after epstein had been released from prison, that andrew visited him in new york and stayed at his mansion. how does he explain that? the problem was the fact that once he had been convicted... you stayed with him. i stayed with him. and that's the bit that —

that, as it were, i kick myself for on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices, and i let the side down. simple as that. but nothing about this story is simple. jeffrey epstein can't answer questions — he took his own life in august. as for andrew, the us authorities will undoubtedly very much like to hear his account of everything he witnessed. nicholas witchell, bbc news. virginia roberts' legal team has responded to the interview. they say they want prince andrew to speak under oath rather than giving statements to the media. sarah ferguson has offered her support to her former husband on social media. writing on twitter, she said the duke was a "true" and "honest" gentleman, able to "speak from the heart" and, on her instagram account, she wrote that she "would be

with him every step of the way." i'm joined now by emily maitlis from newsnight, this is quite a coup. the obvious question, why now? as you well know, television news looks as if it is spontaneous and happens very quickly on the spur of the moment that it doesn't actually. there were months of planning with the palace about an interview have some kind with the duke of york for pretty much a year. it was raised more recently in may before epstein was arrested and charged. following his death in a prison cell in new york in august, there was a sense that things had intensified. they began to understand the depth and scale of the exploitation and abuse. the young women were coming forward in speaking out for the first time.

there were more questions about the duke of york was facing himself about his friendship with epstein, visits to his house in 2010 after he had been convicted and even about his own sexual conduct from the allegations are one of his victims. i think there was a sense that there would never be the right time. in fa ct, would never be the right time. in fact, my very first question to the duke of york, as he will hear this evening, is why now? he explains it in those terms. they will never be a good time or a perfect time to talk about such deeply uncomfortable issues and he chose to do it on thursday with us. it is a risk. one could argue that the story had disappeared from the headlines over recent weeks. although it might come back again with future litigation, by doing this interview with you now, he has put it notjust in the headlines of all the broadcasters,

not just the headlines of all the broadcasters, notjust the bbc, but on the front pages of the newspapers this weekend. i cannot speculate as to what was in his head and what his life has been like for that there we re life has been like for that there were things coming up, including the wedding of his daughter next year and my understanding was that this was going to be a once—in—a—lifetime event that he would speak and he would answer whatever we put to him. nothing was off record, there were no red lines. there were no preconditions? there were no preconditions? there were no preconditions on any other questions we asked. was expecting pushback on certain areas. we role played the interview, as you can imagine, with my editor. she, as prince andrew, was saying, why would the bbc ask something so impolite and rude? i was expecting to deal with something

like that but i got none of that from prince andrew himself and i think viewers will watch and hear and they will decide what they believe and what they trust and what they take away from what he says. from the perspective of the interviewer, there was nothing that i asked that he did not actually engage with. there was no attempt to deviate or block the question. afterwards, he thanked me for asking the questions that were out there. clearly, their worst thing for the bbc and the royal family would be not to ask the questions that were already in the public domain, as far as you possibly can. 24-hour square 36 hours after recording the interview, do you think we learned something from this? -- 24 hours. i am amazed at the level of detail that has come out going through the transcript. in the interview, you

are in the moment. you are catching up are in the moment. you are catching up with the very last thing that is said. 0nly up with the very last thing that is said. only when you go through the transcript as a whole do you understand the level of detail, the fresh information, their new lines. there were extraordinary things, sometimes a turn of phrase, an explanation. sometimes things that we have never known about the duke of york himself that come to us fresh for the first time. as an interviewer, that is what made it compelling for me. i came away thinking this is an extraordinary level of detail. i never expected it. leaving aside the epstein allegations, the ones which the junior roberts has made, as she was then called it is rare for him to do broadcast interviews. —— virginia. unlike his nephews, he had grown up with and even like his brother. did

you feel like you came away with a better sense of the man than you had before? it is impossible to overstate how unusual it was for us. to sit down with the royal family, not walking around a garden talking about trees or good work, is quite rare in itself. and accountability interview of this nature felt extraordinary for that reason. as you said, he does not do many sit down interviews and this was an interview in which he knew how uncomfortable the subject matter would be and there are moments where it is quite raw and visceral and quite uncomfortable for the dealer. i think what you take away from that, aside from the content, is that, aside from the content, is that this is a man, right at the heart of the royal family, who

doesn't actually do this, ever. -- for their viewer. maybe he will never do it again. when can we see it? 9pm tonight, bbc two. i'm joined now from salford by the former bbc royal correspondent, michael cole. what do you make of what you had heard thus far? good for the bbc, a the skip, bad for buckingham palace, a big mistake. i do not know who is getting prince andrew pr and legal advice but it is not very good, i had to tell you. this interview, kudos to nle, well done to you. this brings a tremendous number of problems for him. —— emily. it raises more questions than it a nswe i’s. raises more questions than it answers. even questions of taste by his phraseology, saying it is unbecoming for a member of the royal

family to stay for an extended period of time in the new york town house of a convicted child abuser. it is unbecoming for any decent human being to do that. it was more than a mistake, it was a tragic error. at the heart of this, prince andrew talks a lot about his own feelings and his own reactions but there was a very vulnerable, aged 17, from an ordinary home in america, there was a woman who used to be called the junior roberts at the heart of it and she seems to be a little bit forgotten. —— virginia. it is impossible to exaggerate the seriousness of this. this entangles prince andrew in the american legal system. they do not take any prisoners. be you and are so high, the law is above you. there is an fbi enquiry. interview is an fbi

enquiry. interviews really are neither here nor there. if prince andrew wanted to put this matter out of his life forever, he would be well advised to sit down in a lawyer's office in london with his own criminal lawyers around him and gave a sworn statement blanket and interview, give a deposition to be deposed by the american lawyers. it can happen in london as easy as it can happen in london as easy as it can happen in new york. 0nly can happen in london as easy as it can happen in new york. only by doing that while he scotch the rumours. as i say, this interview raises more than it actually a nswe i’s. raises more than it actually answers. on the question of what we know he said so far, and the bbc has only released limited extracts. i guess they want is to tune in tonight and watch use of the phrase, honourable, when he talks about being too honourable sometimes in

his ownjudgment, being too honourable sometimes in his own judgment, the being too honourable sometimes in his ownjudgment, the decision being too honourable sometimes in his own judgment, the decision to stay and stand a friend despite the conviction can i do think that charles ? conviction can i do think that charles? i do. i think conviction can i do think that charles? i do. ithink he conviction can i do think that charles? i do. i think he was searching for the word loyalty. you can have loyalty and you can have misplaced loyalty. he was trying to be loyal to epstein. it had gone beyond that. he had been to prison and his smart friends in new york had given him a party after he had beenin had given him a party after he had been in prison for the vile offences and that should not be forgotten. it really begs more questions. when he says, i have no recollection of that, it sort of put me in mind of bill clinton on another occasion. i have no recollection of that. those of us who are a little bit old, and viewers will remember president reagan during the iran contra gate scandal, how many times he said, i

don't recollect that, i don't recall that. in the end it became an absolute joke. what is that. in the end it became an absolutejoke. what is interesting is, you and i can have no recollection of something and it may have happened. if prince andrew had said, i never met that were that would have been something definite. but he did not say that and people will be entitled to ask, why did he not say that? and you can see the full interview in a bbc newsnight special on bbc 2, tonight at 9 o'clock. it is also on the bbc iplayer. prince andrew has denied all allegations and claims of any inappropriate conduct. police say they're assessing two allegations of electoral fraud, after claims that the conservatives offered peerages and governmentjobs to brexit party candidates to stand aside in the upcoming general election. the tories deny the allegations. joining me now is political correspondentjohn 0wen. good morning to you. these allegations have been made by among

others ann widdecombe, former conservative mp and now a brexit party candidate at this election. they have prompted lord falconer to write to the police. what is the substance of his argument?m write to the police. what is the substance of his argument? it is a significant intervention from lord falconer who suggests the conservative party could be in breach of the representation of people act enacted call into question the integrity of the 12th of december election. —— and it calls into question. it is about avoiding splitting the leave vote in certain areas. there are claims the conservative party has been putting the brexit party under pressure to stand and elsewhere. 0n the brexit party under pressure to stand and elsewhere. on twitter earlier this week, nigel farage claimed he and eight brexit party figures had been offered jobs in the

next stage of the brexit negotiations and there had even been hints of peerages to follow if only he would stand down in the seat he has not so far agreed to stand down in. ann widdecombe, former conservative party minister and now brexit party candidate, said she was prepared to swear on a bible that she had been approached with an offer of a role in the next phase of brexit negotiations. in response, the prime minister has said it is all nonsense. speaking this morning, michael gove said he had no knowledge of any offers having been made. i'm completely unaware of any of these conversations of the kind that you mention. the conservative party is not interested in pacts, or deals, or arrangements of this kind. we are standing in every seat across the united kingdom because we want people to have a chance to vote for conservatives, so we can have a working conservative majority to get parliament working again. a vote for any other party risks letting jeremy corbyn into downing street with the paralysis and division that would follow.

and, ina and, in a statement, the metropolitan police said it had received two allegations of electoral fraud and malpractice received two allegations of electoralfraud and malpractice in relation to the 2019 general election. labour's manifesto is set to be finalised today, in what is known as the "clause v meeting". the party's executive committee will meet to discuss what policies it will put to voters in the general election. 0ur political correspondent iain watson has more. we might have to waitjust a few moments more. it will be worth waiting for. let's join moments more. it will be worth waiting for. let'sjoin instead dan johnson, who has been campaigning with the prime minister in derbyshire today. if you are in mansfield, i think a seat won by the conservatives at the last election. it was one of the big surprises of the night, wasn't it? it certainly was. the seat labour held previously until 2017. it is a surprise the

conservatives won here. the fact borisjohnson is conservatives won here. the fact boris johnson is here, conservatives won here. the fact borisjohnson is here, knocking on doors and visiting people, it is the sort of seat they want to cling onto a not get back to labour. that is why the prime minister is here with his bus. the questions raised by the brexit party about whether the conservatives have been involved in trying to buy off some of the candidates. it is a seat where the brexit party won't be standing. it isa brexit party won't be standing. it is a conservative held seats. 0ne brexit party won't be standing. it is a conservative held seats. one of a fight between labour and the conservatives to see if boris johnson can keep this seat. it is a former mining town, one that has seen a former mining town, one that has seen a lot of change. that is why there was a change in political leaning at the last election. boris johnson under conservatives campaigning at north nottinghamshire today. he was visiting farm and pushing his views on the environment. is a big message about getting brexit done. later today,

the prime minister raising his environmental policies and promising to plant 30 million trees if he becomes prime minister again.|j wa nted becomes prime minister again.|j wanted to ask you about the trees. they had this promise that they are making, the conservatives, as you say that, a large number of trees to be planted but they had made promises like this before and have not been able to keep them. a sceptic would say, if he didn't keep the first promise, why should we believe the second one? -- if you didn't. it is an area all political parties and governments have made political promises in the past and failed to keep them. david cameron, when he became prime minister, made all sorts of promises about the conservatives being the party of the environment. he redesigned the logo on the conservative bus, not as green as it was but the logo became a symbol of the conservative party and boris johnson has

a symbol of the conservative party and borisjohnson has said the issue is one he will take seriously. jeremy corbyn has raised it again and again in this campaign already, saying we need to decarbonise the economy and we organise the way it is based around carbon emissions. this has already featured highly in the election campaign and we will have to wait to see what promises are in the election campaign and we will have to wait to see what promises 0n will have to wait to see what promises on the manifestos but they have said they will commit to planting 30 million trees and the lib dems have gone further and said they will plant 60 million. it looks another area in which they will get one—upmanship on each other. another area in which they will get one-upmanship on each other. they say money doesn't grow on trees but let's hope trees grow on trees. good morning. joe gomez was knocked on the knee in training yesterday and has not recovered enough to

travel. henderson has a viral infection and has returned to his club. england had to their match with a 23 man squad. the other home nations continue their bids tojoin the other home nations continue their bids to join them today. northern ireland are third in a really tough group, behind the netherlands and germany. they need to beat the dutch this afternoon and the germans on tuesday and hope other results go their way. wales also need some luck, as well as beating azerbaijan tonight and then hungary. scotland face cyprus and kazakhstan but they're facing a play—off next spring. for northern ireland, it's good to have a safety net. this is the start of an incredibly difficult double—header, which, whilst we have an outside chance of qualification, we'll do everything possible to try and take it to the final game and if the case is such that we don't qualify through that route, then we have hopefully a play—off to look forward to in march. the great britain lions will be heading home without a win

on their southern hemisphere tour, after losing to papua new guinea in their final match in port moresby. it started well for great britain — they opened the scoring after 14 minutes — a swift move gave blake austin a clear run into the corner, for his first international try. they went 10—0 ahead but that was the end of their scoring and a spectacular try from edwin ipape set off the papua new guinea fightback. they won by 28 points to 10. england's women agonisingly lost the curtain—raiser this morning — a last—minute shirleyjoe try gave the papua new guinea 0rchids their first test win against england — they won by 20 points to 16 to level the series at 1—1. england captain emily rudge couldn't hide her disppointment. england batsmanjoe denly made 68 on his return from an ankle injury and he led a fightback on day two of theirfinal warm—up match before the first test starts next wednesday. they closed on 355—8 against new zealand a in whangarei — a lead of 53 runs.

the men's number one — rafael nadal — is out of the season—ending world tour finals. that's because alexander zverev beat daniil medvedev to claim the last semi—final spot at the 02 arena in london, where he'll play dominic thiem. zverev is the defending champion and he certainly looked the part, winning in straight sets. ahead of this weekend's brazilian grand prix, sebastian vettel was quickest with lewis hamilton back in fifth. that is all the support from us for now. thank you for that stop emergency crews have worked through the night, to tackle a fire at a student block of flats in greater manchester. the fire service said the flames spread across all six floors of the university accomodation building in bolton. two people were treated for their injuries at the scene. afnan gohar is a student at the university and lives in the block.

she told bbc breakfast what happened last night. i was just i wasjust in my i was just in my room at first with my friends and we had a fire alarm go off. we didn't really like take notice of it until a girl came running and, like that she banged on the doors and screamed, telling us to get out. we didn't believe her at first and my friend went outside and checked and she confirmed it was true. so all of us ran away as soon as we could. then we just saw, basically, that building, the shared apartments, the actual building on fire. i live in studios but they are pretty close to each other. while we

we re pretty close to each other. while we were going down the stairs, we saw the entire shared apartments going down in flames, basically. crowds are gathering in paris for a rally marking the first anniversary of the french yellow vest movement. the demonstrations, which have turned violent during some weeks, were sparked over a planned fuel tax rise. it then developed into a wider call for political change. the bbc‘s hugh schofield is on the streets of paris and joins us live. he spent many weekends on the streets of paris talking to us about it. it is hard to think back now that's something that started so small grew so rapidly and so dramatically. where are we now in terms of the protests? had they continued? you terms of the protests? had they continued ? you are terms of the protests? had they continued? you are right. they are seen as a continued? you are right. they are seen as a prototype around the world of social media protests. in other countries like chile and beirut,

similar movements had occurred in recent weeks and months, sparked by very small events, price rises, and found by the ability of people connecting with each other so easily on the internet and social media. as quickly as they rise, the experience of france, also shows they can deflate, they can go down. it kinda burned itself out. there had been attem pts burned itself out. there had been atte m pts to burned itself out. there had been attempts to keep it going in the last months but you cannot pretend the movement was like it was in the heady days of december and january last year. there are still some steady groups of yellow vests around the country cooking their barbecues and enjoying the honking horns of supporters but the force of the movement has gone. i think that was inevitable. arguably, they achieved quite a lot, not only by forcing president macron into a very weak

position, forcing him to turn around with his spending plans but raising the debate, the issue of divorce about the forgotten masses in the provinces and the metropolitan elite. in terms of not going ahead with the fuel tax increase which initially sparked it, has anything changed substantially? has it developed and followed through? has he followed through with policy change? yes, he has. they would probably dispute that, when you hear them today. of course we had been talking to them a year on about their regrets and hopes and so on. they say nothing has changed and the government is still not listening and a lot of their demands have not been met. none of that has happened. what president macron didn't do, forced very much onto the back foot,

and clearly rattled by all of this, was to change his whole budget plan and announce a big loosening of his budget plans with 70 billion euros in hand—outs and tax cuts for the less well—off. they may not see it asa less well—off. they may not see it as a big change but economists and a lot of the rest of the country regarded as a major concession by a government forced into this position by the yellow vest movement. plus the whole listening exercise, tactically and brilliant move. he went out and arrange the debates across the country which were widely joined in by people and that took a lot of the pressure. it was like a valve. it took a lot of pressure out of the cooking pot we felt we were living in at the start of the year. rank you very much.

the bbc‘s children in need has raised almost £48 million this year.