'Andrew told Met to dig up dirt on Virginia' and 'Virginia's revenge'
The Daily Mail runs two "royal bombshells". The first is a claim that "Epstein set Prince up with second sex abuse victim", and the second states that "Andrew told the Met to dig up dirt on Virginia". There have been "calls for police probe" as it says an "email reveals he procured private data for smear campaign".
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The Sunday Telegraph echoes the Mail and relies on its reporting for its headline that "Andrew sought to dig up dirt on Giuffre". The prince "asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate sex abuse accuser", it writes. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to "cut 40p tax rate", according to The Telegraph. This puts him "at odds" with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The Sunday Mirror also has a Royal exclusive. It says "revelations" in the posthumous book by Virginia Giuffre were the "final straw for King", calling them "Virginia's revenge". Ms Giuffre alleged she was forced to have sex with the prince on three occasions, including when she was aged 17 in 2001 at the London home of his partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who is charged with grooming and sex trafficking girls for abuse by the paedophile financier Epstein. The prince made a payment to Ms Giuffre in an out-of-court settlement in 2022, after she had brought a civil case against him. He denies all the accusations against him. Ms Giuffre died earlier this year by suicide.
The Daily Star details the "bombshell claim in late Virginia Giuffre's memoir" that Prince Andrew had insisted she "sign a gagging order to avoid embarrassing Queen Elizabeth".
In yet another Royal exclusive, The Sun on Sunday says "Andrew axes Fergie party" in "new Royal shock". Sarah Ferguson's "66th birthday bash" was "cancelled as crisis over Epstein grew" for the Prince.
The Observer's front page is dominated by a snap of former BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis's interview with Prince Andrew. The headline reads "he lied to me about Epstein".
The Sunday Times also has a royal story, saying that Prince William "wants to go further on Andrew and will ban him from coronation" when he becomes king. The paper follows up on the ongoing China spy case, saying a "spy suspect was stopped with suitcase of cash" after flying into Heathrow from China. It also claims that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage's partner Laure Ferrari is "embroiled in a criminal investigation involving allegations of fraud" at the think tank where she served as executive director.
"Thousands of perverts" are "to be freed from jail early" writes the Sunday Express. They say "Labour's sentencing shake-up 'puts public at risk'."
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