Newspaper headlines: Prince Andrews 'squirms' in 'bombshell' interview By BBC News

Staff Published duration 17 November 2019

image copyright Mark Harrison/BBC/PA Media image caption Prince Andrew answered questions from the BBC's Emily Maitlis at Buckingham Palace

"Disastrous". That's the Mail on Sunday's verdict on Prince Andrew's TV interview, which makes the front of several of the Sunday newspapers after airing on Saturday evening.

The paper attacks him for not showing any sympathy for Jeffrey Epstein's victims. "Not one single word of remorse" is its front page headline.

The Sunday Mirror says that any reasonable person would be ashamed of being friends with the billionaire sex offender.

But, according to the paper, the Duke of York spent more time dwelling on the misery the scandal had caused him.

The Sunday Times reports that one palace source described the interview as "one of the single worst PR moves in recent history".

The duke's spin doctor is said to have left his job two weeks ago after advising Prince Andrew not to appear on Newsnight.

The article also suggests that aides to the Queen and the Prince of Wales regarded the decision to go ahead with the interview with "incredulity and alarm".

The Times's cartoonist, Newman, seizes on the duke's statement that he doesn't remember meeting 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.

His sketch pictures Prince Andrew in conversation with the Queen. She asks: "How was the Emily Maitlis interview?" to which the duke replies, "I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever."

Russia report

Downing Street may not have released the parliamentary report on illicit Russian activities in the UK, but the Sunday Times says it has some details.

According to the paper, interference from Moscow may have had an impact on the Brexit referendum but the effect was unquantifiable.

The report apparently highlights anti-EU articles which were disseminated on social media by Kremlin backed outlets such as RT and Sputnik.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry tells the paper the disclosures raise serious questions about the safeguards in place for the general election.

image copyright Reuters image caption Boris Johnson has given an interview to the Daily Telegraph, where he used to write a column

The battle by the main parties to control the election agenda is played out on the front pages.

The Sunday Telegraph leads with an interview with Boris Johnson who reveals that every Conservative candidate has personally pledged to vote his Brexit deal through the Commons.

The prime minister tells the paper that he wants people to be 100% sure that a Tory government would unblock Parliament.

The Observer says that Labour is determined to put the future of the health service centre stage.

To that end, Jeremy Corbyn has penned an article for the paper where he pledges to pass an emergency NHS protection law should he win the election.

The idea would be to stop American pharmaceutical companies from infiltrating the health service and forcing up the price of drugs.

Labour's eye-catching spending pledges come in for some criticism in the comment pages.

Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer says that despite offering "free stuff" for "absolutely everyone", the polls suggest Labour is still trailing.

He believes this is due to "the old and usually reliable law of campaigns that it isn't enough to have popular policies. Commitments also have to be credible".

But the Sunday Mirror praises Labour's plans for free dental check-ups, arguing they'll save the NHS millions by stopping people with toothache ending up at GP surgeries.

image copyright BBC World News image caption Jennifer Arcuri, pictured here in 2013, has given an interview to ITV

Several of the papers pick up on an interview given by the American businesswoman, Jennifer Arcuri, to ITV.

There have been questions about her relationship with Boris Johnson while he was mayor of London - and whether she received favourable treatment; something he denies.

Several papers carry news that MI5 wants to recruit working class spies.

The Sunday Express says the intelligence agency is on the look-out for the offspring of motor mechanics, fitters and plumbers to join an 11-week scheme to tackle and investigate international terrorism.

The Sunday Mirror quips that James Bond prefers an Aston Martin, but candidates with Ford Fiestas will now do well. Its headline is "It's Bond... Jim Bond".

Finally, should you feel tempted today to treat yourself to some chocolate or a coffee, then you might be interested in a Mail on Sunday article which attempts to put a price tag on impulse buys.