Five multi-million pound businesses have cut ties with Prince Andrew's Dragons' Den-inspired charity and three more are now considering dumping the crisis-hit royal after his car crash BBC interview, MailOnline can reveal today.

Advertising Week Europe, which has supported the Pitch@Palace project and was hailed as an official supporter by the prince, is the latest company to pull its backing for the beleaguered duke.

Bosses will not be inviting Andrew or his team to its four-day summit in London - one of the world's largest gatherings of advertising executives and experts being held in the capital next March.

A spokesman said: 'While our support for entrepreneurs remains just as strong, we can confirm that Pitch@Palace will not be held as part of Advertising Week Europe 2020'.

Andrew's former supporters are in full retreat today with the future of his charity for young entrepreneurs now looking precarious because of the Epstein scandal and damaging claims he had sex with his 17-year-old 'slave' Virginia Roberts three times.

Pitch@Palace has been forced to delete the webpage hailing its 35 key backers - and five big businesses: Advertising Week Europe, KPMG, Aon, Standard Chartered and Gravity Road say they will no longer be working with the charity.

It is now known how much this will cost the charity, but KPMG was paying them £100,000-a-year.

The future of Prince Andrew's pet project Pitch@Palace appears in jeopardy as yet major supporters pulled the plug and their financial support

These are the 35 businesses and that support his start-up project: Pitch@Palace with 5 businesses Advertising Week Europe, KPMG, Aon, Standard Chartered and Gravity Road and two universities Bond University in Queensland and Melbourne's RMIT University all severing ties. Barclays and the Stelios Foundation are the only two to stand by him;

Pitch@Palace's supporters page, which contained the logos of its 35 biggest funders, has been deleted as multi-million pound businesses wanted away

Prince Andrew (pictured during his interview with Emily Maitlis on the BBC's Newsnight) is facing a furious backlash over his relationship with Epstein

The 35 businesses that sponsor Andrew's charity - and the companies now pulling out after BBC disaster Cutting ties KPMG Standard Chartered Aon Gravity Road Advertising Week Europe Bond University Melbourne's RMIT University Fondation Rideau Hall Standing by Andrew Stelios Foundation Barclays Li Ka Shing Foundation Considering position AstraZeneca Murdoch University University of Wollongong Yet to respond Bosch Air Asia Bank of China JD.com Tencent Business Horizon International Group InMotion Arm China Construction bank Hult business school Royal Academy of Engineering Halkin Ventures IMB Bank Woodside Tamkeen The Chosunilbo Khalifa Fund Fieldhouse IX Advertisement

Two of Australia's most prestigious universities, Bond University in Queensland and Melbourne's RMIT University, also severed their ties with the controversial royal's charity today. Murdoch University and the University of Wollongong will also review their links.

There are also major doubts about whether the 189 leading charities and groups Andrew supports away from Pitch@Palace will all stand by him. London Metropolitan University is considering whether to sack him as a patron and the University of Huddersfield says it is 'listening' to students left raging over the decision to back him as their Chancellor.

Earlier today Standard Chartered revealed to MailOnline that its bosses have decided they will not be renewing its sponsorship when it ends in February.

Pitch@Palace has lost five key sponsors and three more including AstraZeneca are formally considering whether to quit after his BBC disaster.

KPMG, one of London's big four accounting firms, was the first company to end its £100,000-a-year sponsorship last night in the face of 'adverse publicity'. Insurance giant Aon then asked for its name to be removed.

There are also major doubts over Andrew's links to 189 charities in the UK and abroad.

Andrew is a patron of the Outward Bound Trust [OBT] after he inherited the role from his father Prince Philip and the charity is holding a special meeting to discuss the issue later this week. The prince’s daughter Beatrice is a trustee but will be excluded from taking part.

The University of Huddersfield is the only organisation to vocally back their Chancellor - but this has sparked insurrection among students who are lobbying Andrew to resign with a 'Not my Chancellor' campaign on campus and a major vote later this week.

And London Metropolitan University told MailOnline this afternoon they will review whether to keep Andrew as a patron at its next Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday, November 26.

As Prince Andrew found himself out in the cold after his BBC interview disaster, it has emerged:

Jeffrey Epstein's alleged trafficking victim Virginia Roberts pictured by MailOnline in Australia as it is reveals she filmed an interview with the BBC three weeks ago;

Outraged students at the University of Huddersfield are lobbying Andrew to resign as chancellor after angry row after institution backed him;

Standard Chartered and KPMG pull the plug on sponsorship of the Duke's Dragons' Den-style start up scheme - while Aon and AstraZeneca also reviewing relationship;

Epstein accuser says the financier used Prince Andrew as BAIT to get her to his private island when she was 15;

Growing calls from politicians for 'disgraceful' Prince Andrew to fly to the US to face FBI investigators and give evidence as his role in public life looks increasingly precarious;

A poll found that just 6 per cent of the public believe his explanation for his relationship with Epstein;

Andrew made 'unbelievable' racist comments about Arabs including camel jokes, claims ex-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith Prince Andrew is pictured with King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud during the Saudi royal family's state visit to the UK in 2007 Prince Andrew made racist jokes about Arabs during a state banquet for the Saudi Royal family, a former Home Secretary has claimed. Jacqui Smith, an ex-cabinet member, said the Duke of York made the 'unbelievable' comments while mingling with British politicians at Buckingham Palace. Mrs Smith told Iain Dale on the LBC Election podcast that the conversation, in which the prince told jokes he thought those present 'would find amusing', left the group with 'slack-jawed' expressions. She refused to repeat the words uttered by the prince, but confirmed that one joke included 'a comment about camels' that was 'as worse as you can imagine'. Mrs Smith did not reveal when the interaction took place, but the only state visit by the Saudi royal family to occur during her time as Home Secretary was in 2007, with a banquet taking place at the palace on October 30. The accusation piles yet more pressure on the prince, who is already reeling after his disastrous BBC interview on Saturday and amid claims he once used the N-word during meetings with Downing Street. Advertisement

KPMG, one of London's big four accounting firms, was the first to admit it was protecting its reputation by ending its £100,000 a year sponsorship.

Insurance giant Aon asked for its name be removed from the scheme's website and drugs maker AstraZeneca said it was reviewing its relationship.

Children's charities and schools linked to Prince Andrew are also in disarray today as they distanced themselves from the under-fire royal.

A string of major companies and charities are also examining their links with Andrew after his extraordinary TV interview on Saturday.

Children North East and The Children's Foundation, both charities Andrew lists on his official website, refused to tell MailOnline if he will keep his official role supporting them in light of the Epstein scandal.

The Council of British International Schools [COBIS] praised the duke's work with them since 2011 but also refused to say if their link with the prince remains today.

Jeffrey Epstein's sex slave Virginia Roberts has filmed a BBC interview she will use to shatter Prince Andrew's denials they ever had sex when she was 17 as the royal's woes got worse today.

The 35-year-old, who calls the Duke of York her 'abuser', spoke to Panorama before he spoke publicly for the first time to say they never met or had sex - even suggesting the world-famous picture of them together in London in 2001 could have been faked.

A source close to Ms Roberts says she 'made no bones about her thoughts on the Duke's denial' during her sit-down with Panorama, in which she is said to demand he 'comes clean'.

But she is said to be irate that her own interview has not been shown amid suggestions it was held back to ensure Andrew's sit-down with Emily Maitlis wasn't jeopardised - but BBC insiders claim it will form a wider Epstein investigation that is not yet ready to broadcast.

US-born Ms Roberts, who now uses her married surname Giuffre, spoke to Panorama in the US three weeks ago - but may have to be interviewed again to respond to the duke's bizarre alibis including being in Pizza Express on the night she claims they had sex in London.

Andrew also denied he allegations he 'sweated profusely' during intercourse by claiming he couldn't perspire for more than 20 years after an adrenaline-rush while being shot at in the Falklands War.

Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking victim Virginia Roberts stepped out in public in Cairns on Tuesday after filming an interview set to challenge Prince Andrew's denials they ever had sex

Virginia claims she had sex with Prince Andrew after billionaire Jeffrey Epstein (right) allegedly trafficked her to the UK. She says a picture was taken of her with Andrew (left) in early 2001. The prince denies all knowledge of having met her

Support for Andrew is ebbing away after his interview with Emily Maitlis, which he is believed to have said was a 'great success' - but many disagree

Prince 'I-didn't-party-or-do-PDAs' Andrew is pictured doing plenty of both Photos show Prince Andrew enjoying the attentions of several women. In this photo, taken on the French Riviera in July 2007 the Prince looks wild-eyed as he parties with American socialite Chris Von Aspen, who licks him In his BBC interview, Prince Andrew claimed he had ‘never really partied’ – and is averse to public displays of affection – as he rebutted allegations he had sex with Virginia Roberts. But a number of images have resurfaced, showing him letting his hair down at wild parties and frolicking with several glamorous young women. On BBC’s Newsnight special, the Duke of York insisted that he had no idea why he had been dubbed the ‘party prince’. He said: ‘I don’t know why I’ve collected that title because I don’t … I never have really partied.’ He added: ‘I was single for quite a long time in the early 80s but after I got married I was very happy and I’ve never really felt the need to go and party and certainly going to Jeffrey [Epstein]’s was not about partying, absolutely not.’ He also hinted that the controversial 2001 photograph of him holding 17-year-old Miss Roberts around the waist might be fake as he was not ‘one to hug’. He said: ‘I’m terribly sorry but if I, as a member of the Royal Family, and I have a photograph taken and I take very, very few photographs, I am not one to, as it were, hug and public displays of affection are not something that I do.’ But footage and snaps of the dishevelled prince at parties, some without his suit jacket and with his shirt untucked, would suggest otherwise. The duke can be seen at several soirees in the late 2000s on the French Riviera partying with women. He was pictured in July 2007 at a party in Saint-Tropez embracing a number of women including socialite Chris Von Aspen, who he holds by the waist. Advertisement

Andrew appeared on BBC Newsnight to answer questions about his relationship with Epstein, a paedophile billionaire who killed himself in jail.

The interview went down spectacularly badly however and the backlash grew yesterday when an Epstein victim went public at a dramatic press conference. She said the financier had tried to lure her to his private island by saying Andrew was there.

Her lawyer joined the international clamour for Andrew to face the US authorities and tell them everything he knows.

Sources today said the Royal Family has been left reeling by the fallout from the BBC interview and the renewed criticism from Epstein's victims.

While insiders were keen not to be seen to be criticising Andrew, it was clear that his wider family were 'aghast' at the interview and the subsequent reaction. 'People are shaking their heads and wondering where to go from here,' said one.

Another former royal aide has called for the prince to 'take a sabbatical' before irreversible damage is done to the charities and organisations he works with.

Questions remain as to how much the Queen knew and whether she sanctioned the interview. Palace officials repeated their line that she had been 'aware' of the interview but refused to be drawn on whether she had approved it.

On a disastrous day for the eighth in line to the throne pressure centred on the charity that he sees as a lifeline to repairing his public reputation.

During Saturday's 'make or break' appearance on BBC's Newsnight, Andrew flagged Pitch@Palace – a Dragons' Den-style scheme for entrepreneurs – as a vital way of reconnecting with the public following the scandal.

A royal aide yesterday described it as one of the few 'real success stories' of his life. But KPMG, one of Britain's leading accountancy firms, revealed it had cut ties with the duke. The firm was a founding partner and had paid up to £100,000 a year in sponsorship since 2014.

KPMG bosses decided to end the relationship last month due to 'unsavoury' issues stemming from the duke's friendship with Epstein. The decision was taken by the firm after consultation with its 'risk committee' that considers reputational issues.

The drugs giant Astrazeneca is considering its links to the Duke of York's Pitch@Palace following his Newsnight interview

Two officers on duty when paedophile Jeffrey Epstein took his own life 'will face criminal charges' Two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein when he took his own life are expected to face criminal charges this week for falsifying prison records Two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein when he took his own life are expected to face criminal charges this week for falsifying prison records. The federal charges could come as soon as Tuesday and are the first in connection with Epstein´s death, sources told The Associated Press. The wealthy financier, 66, died on August 10 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York while awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing teenage girls. The officers on Epstein's unit at the federal jail in New York City are suspected of failing to check on him every half-hour, as required, and of fabricating log entries to claim they had. Advertisement

Astrazeneca, which is a 'strategic partner', said it was reviewing its three-year relationship which is due to end next month.

Aon was listed as the initiative's sole 'global partner' but sources insisted the company was not associated with Pitch@Palace and the listing was an error.

It is understood that several firms were prompted to review their relationship with Andrew after he was again accused of having sex with a teenage victim of the billionaire financier earlier this year. He vehemently denies the claims.

A web page advertising Pitch@Palace's sponsors was removed from the internet yesterday afternoon. The project has helped 931 businesses, created 5,982 jobs and generated £1.105billion of economic activity, according to Andrew's team.

The Daily Mail yesterday contacted many other multinational companies linked to the scheme, including the bank Standard Chartered and Air Asia.

But none gave their backing to the duke and instead refused to comment on their links. A KPMG spokesman refused to comment last night.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'KPMG's contract with Pitch@Palace ended at the end of October. A full programme of Pitch@Palace events is continuing across the United Kingdom.'

KPMG has decided not to renew its sponsorship of Pitch@Palace, which is Prince Andrew's scheme for start-ups

189 charities and groups that count on Prince Andrew as a patron (including 28 golf clubs and societies!) Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League 21st Doncaster Scout Group Action on Hearing Loss Alderney Maritime Trust The Duke of York, Patron Army Museums Ogilby Trust Army Officers' Golfing Society Army Rifle Association Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) Attend (National Association of Hospital and Community Friends) Aycliffe Centre for Young People Badminton England Badminton Wales (Welsh Badminton Union) Baker Dearing Educational Trust Berkshire County Cricket Club Bermuda Sloop Foundation British Deaf Association British Exploring Society (BSES Expeditions) British Science Association (formerly British Association for the Advancement of Science) British-Kazakh Society Broughton House Home for Ex-Service Personnel California State Police The Canadian Canoe Museum Catalyst Inc Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence Children North East City Gateway Commonwealth Golfing Society Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire Constructionarium Council of British International Schools (COBIS) English National Ballet Faldo Junior Series Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel Trust Falklands Conservation Fight for Sight Fire Service Sports and Athletics Association Fly Navy Heritage Trust Foundation for Liver Research Friends of Lakefield College School Friends of the Staffordshire Regiment GBx Golf Foundation Greenwich Hospital Grenadier Guards H.M.S. Duke of York Association Horris Hill School Hunstanton Golf Club Intercontinental Church Society Interfaith Explorers International Space Innovation Centre Inverness Golf Club Jubilee Sailing Trust Killyleagh Yacht Club Kohima Educational Trust Lakefield College School London Metropolitan University Lucifer Golfing Society Maimonides Interfaith Foundation Malaria No More Maple Bay Yacht Club Marine Society and Sea Cadets Morayvia Aerospace Centre National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Full Stop Campaign (NSPCC) Nominet Trust On Course Foundation Outward Bound International Police Treatment Centres Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta Power 2 Quad Centenary Council Queen's York Rangers Raspberry Pi Foundation Richmond Golf Club Robert T. Jones, Jr. Scholarship Foundation Round Square Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom Royal Aero Club Trust Royal Air Force Golfing Society Royal Air Force Lossiemouth Royal Alberta United Services Institute Royal Artillery Golfing Society Royal Ascot Golf Club Royal Belfast Golf Club Royal Blackheath Golf Club Royal British Legion Scotland, Inverness Branch Royal British Legion, St. James's Branch Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club Royal College of Ophthalmologists Royal County Down Golf Club Royal Free Charity Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust Royal Guild of St Sebastian (Royal Guild of Archers of St. Sebastian - Bruges) Royal Highland Fusiliers Of Canada, The Royal Hospital School Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment) Royal Jersey Golf Club Royal Liverpool Golf Club Royal Montrose Golf Club Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Royal Navy Golf Association Royal Navy Golfing Society Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (The Duke of York's Own) Royal North Devon Golf Club Royal Norwich Golf Club Royal Perth Golfing Society and Country and City Club Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Portrush Golf Club Royal Society for Asian Affairs Royal St David's Golf Club Royal Thames Yacht Club Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies Royal Victoria Yacht Club, British Columbia Royal Winchester Golf Club Royal Windsor Horse Show Ryedale Festival Seafarers Hospital Society Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) SickKids Foundation Small Arms School Corps Society for Nautical Research Sound Seekers Sovereign Science SS Great Britain Trust St Helena National Trust Staffordshire Regiment Trust STFC Harwell and Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus Studio Schools Trust Sunningdale Ladies Golf Club TeenTech The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland The Association of Royal Navy Officers The Cambridge Science Centre The Cavalry and Guards Club The Children's Foundation The Colonel's Fund (Grenadier Guards) The Corporation of Trinity House The Duke of York Young Champions' Trophy The Duke of York's Community Initiative The Duke of York's Sports Foundation The Entrepreneurship Centre, Cambridge Judge Business School The Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Officers' Association The Friends of the Imperial War Museum The Gordonstoun Association The Helicopter Club of Great Britain The Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Company of Air Pilots The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn The Institution of Civil Engineers The Ladder Foundation The Northern Meeting The Omani Britain Friendship Association (OBFA) The Outward Bound Trust The Peter Jones Foundation The Place (London Contemporary Dance Trust) The Princess Louise Fusiliers The Printing Charity The Returned & Services League of Australia Limited The Royal Air Squadron The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh The Royal Fine Art Commission Trust The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland The Duke of York, Royal Colonel The Royal Household Golf Club The Royal Institute of Navigation The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children's Fund The Royal Society The South Atlantic Medal Association (SAMA 82) The Trampery The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights United Kingdom Trade & Investment University of Cambridge Judge Business School University of Huddersfield Wellington Academy Wellington College International Tianjin Westminster Academy Weston Spirit Whitgift School York Minster Appeal York Minster Fund York Race Course Yorkshire Air Ambulance Yorkshire Business Conference Yorkshire Society Young Engineers Advertisement

London Metropolitan University is set to 'review' Prince Andrew's patronage while Huddersfield will 'consult with students' over his Chancellor role after backlash at bosses who stood by him

London Metropolitan University is reviewing the Duke of York's role as its patron

Huddersfield student union votes to campaign for Duke to resign as chancellor

Motion put forward before others back it with the hashtag #NotMyChancellor

Andrew had disastrous interview on Saturday over Jeffrey Epstein friendship

London Metropolitan University revealed today that it is reviewing the Duke of York's role as its patron in the wake of his disastrous BBC interview three days ago.

Officials will consider Prince Andrew's position at a board meeting as calls continued for him to make a statement about his paedophile former friend Jeffrey Epstein.

Meanwhile students at Huddersfield University launched a campaign for Andrew to resign as chancellor, saying he is 'not the sort of role model students should have'.

The Huddersfield student union voted last night to campaign for the Duke of York to stand down as the ceremonial head after the fallout from his Newsnight interview.

But Huddersfield University has backed Andrew, saying his 'enthusiasm for innovation and entrepreneurship is a natural fit with the work of the university'.

The Duke of York speaks at his installation as chancellor of Huddersfield University in July 2015

A motion was put forward by Huddersfield student Tristan Smith, with others backing the suggestion move on social media with the hashtag #NotMyChancellor.

Nearly 200 miles south, officials at London Metropolitan University are reviewing the Duke of York's role as its patron in the wake of the Newsnight interview.

A spokesman for London Metropolitan University said: 'We will be reviewing the position of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, as our Patron at the next Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday, November 26.

'The University opposes all forms of discrimination, abuse, human trafficking and any activity that is contrary to the University's values.'

Student Tristan Smith expressed delight at the motion being passed by the student union

Andrew took over the position from his father the Duke of Edinburgh in 2013.

At Huddersfield, English literature student Tristan told the Independent: 'I don't think this man should be a chancellor and a role model. I want to be proud to go here.

'A lot of people agree with me and I had a staff member say to me that they were really pleased that I had put it forward. I don't think his actions represent us.'

Speaking to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, the student added: 'I think that the behaviour that we've seen, disregarding the allegations even, the fact that we know he continued the friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after the conviction, and even stayed at his house of his own admission – he admitted to that in the interview - I don't think that's very good conduct really, I don't think that should be representative of us.

'I think he needs to have taken a stand to show some integrity, and I haven't seen that yet. It's not the sort of role model I think students should have, it's not the sort of person I think should be in that position, essentially of authority and of recognition and respect.

Students at Huddersfield University are using the hashtag #NotMyChancellor on social media

'It seems very unreasonable I think that we would value having students going out into the world with integrity, with morals, with upstanding good reputations, and then that not being reflected in our chancellor's behaviour and his statements, which I found to be very upsetting, and which I did not see much accountability and much sympathy for the victims, regardless of what may or may not have happened.'

Just 16 PER CENT of people believe Andrew after Epstein interview Just 16 per cent of Brits believe Prince Andrew was telling the truth during his disastrous BBC interview. A survey by OnePoll reveals just how badly the broadcast has gone down with the general public. Only 16 per cent believe his claim that he has no recollection of meeting Virginia Giuffre, then 17, whom he is alleged to have had sex with. The same figure believe his 'alibi' that he was at Pizza Express in Woking when Virginia Roberts alleged the incident took place. Just 17 per cent believe his claim that he cannot sweat due to a medical condition picked up during the Falklands War. More than half (54 per cent) think his decision to do the interview had damaged the Royal Family's reputation. And almost two thirds (63 per cent) said they thought Prince Andrew had done victims of sexual abuse 'a disservice' by describing Epstein's offending as 'unbecoming'. Last night, in a press conference in Los Angeles, another victim of Epstein urged Prince Andrew to share information on his former friend, who was found hanged in a US jail in August. More than half (58 per cent) of the 1,000 UK adults surveyed by OnePoll think Andrew should now volunteer himself to the FBI to be questioned as part of the investigation. The poll also revealed 63 per cent said they felt sorry for the Queen after the 93-year-old following her son's relationship with the convicted sex offender and his Newsnight interview. Advertisement

The motion was put forward before Andrew's interview on the BBC's Newsnight on Saturday over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Emmanuel Haruna, president of Huddersfield Student Union, said it was 'already scheduled to go to a termly student jury' before the programme was aired.

The student union confirmed shortly before 7pm yesterday that the motion had been passed.

The motion, which was tabled by Tristan, stated: 'We as students at the University of Huddersfield and members of Huddersfield Students' Union should not be represented by a man with ties to organised child sexual exploitation and assault.

'Prince Andrew's association with a known paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein... combined with the allegations made by Virginia Giuffre that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her make him an utterly unsuitable representative for us here at the University of Huddersfield.

'We need to put survivors of sexual assault above royal connections and show students, alumni, and prospective students that this institution cares about their well-being, irrespective of the status of the alleged perpetrator.'

A university spokesman said today: 'We are aware of the students' union meeting last night and the motion it passed regarding the chancellor.

'We listen to our students' views and concerns and we will now be consulting with them over the coming weeks.'

It comes after the university yesterday refused to criticise Andrew, with a spokesman saying: 'HRH The Duke of York has long ties with the university stretching back to his first visit in 2001.

'He became its patron in 2013 and was then conferred as chancellor in 2015. As chancellor, he has taken a keen interest in the work of the university and has represented it in his official capacity on numerous occasions.

Tristan Smith (right), who began a campaign for Prince Andrew to resign as Chancellor, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire that he is 'not the sort of role model students should have'

'His enthusiasm for innovation and entrepreneurship is a natural fit with the work of the University and every year the University of Huddersfield organises the Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Awards, which are promoted across universities throughout the North of England.

'In relation to the allegations, the palace has previously issued an emphatic denial and this was reiterated in the BBC interview with The Duke of York and we have nothing further to add.'

The pressure comes as the Duke of York was dealt a major blow after a sponsor of his flagship business project said it was not renewing support.

The Duke of York speaks in an interview with the BBC's Emily Maitlis, broadcast on Saturday

Andrew is facing the embarrassing prospect of charities and institutions he is associated with distancing themselves, as lawyers for the convicted sex offender's victims urged him to tell US authorities what he knows.

The duke was caught up in further controversy when a newspaper columnist claimed Andrew used a racially-offensive word during a Buckingham Palace meeting in 2012.

The Queen and other senior royals are said to 'back and believe' Andrew's defence of himself in the BBC interview '100 per cent', sources told the Evening Standard.

London Metropolitan University (above) said it will 'review' Prince Andrew being its patron

The Duke of York is chancellor of Huddersfield University (pictured), but students are campaigning for him to resign

One alleged Epstein victim gave an emotional account of her ordeal as she launched a civil lawsuit against the sex offender's estate and made a direct appeal to the duke after her lawyer, Gloria Allred, called on him to make a statement.

The 31-year-old - known only as Jane Doe 15 - said: 'I would also like to say I agree with Gloria that Prince Andrew, and any others that are close to Epstein, should come forward and give a statement under oath on what information they have.'

The fall-out from Andrew's Newsnight appearance has already begun, with the Outward Bound Trust, which the duke supports as patron, saying it will hold a board meeting in the next few days when members will discuss issues raised by Saturday's interview.

Andrew walks among students at Huddersfield University in a graduation ceremony in 2015

KPMG's sponsorship contract with Andrew's Pitch@Palace, a mentoring scheme for tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, expired at the end of October and will not be renewed, a source said.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: 'KPMG's contract with Pitch@Palace ended at the end of October. A full programme of Pitch@Palace events is continuing across the United Kingdom.'

Where is Prince Andrew now left legally? Police interview for Andrew? Scotland Yard has ruled out any inquiry in the UK, but the FBI and the French authorities are conducting investigations. It is possible for the FBI or French police to issue a 'letter of request' direct to Scotland Yard for assistance in taking a statement from the royal. They could request that an interview takes place with either British detectives or French or American investigators if they travelled to the UK to meet him. The FBI could also issue a request for mutual legal assistance via the Home Office. But any statement or interview would only be voluntary and it is not possible to force a potential suspect or witness to co-operate without a warrant for their arrest. Andrew cannot be subpoenaed to give testimony because he lives outside the jurisdiction of US courts. Immunity from prosecution? Last night Buckingham Palace confirmed the Duke of York is not immune from prosecution. The Queen has sovereign immunity from civil or criminal prosecutions, but this does not extend to all members of the Royal Family. Anna Rothwell, of law firm Corker Binning, said yesterday those connected to Epstein were 'vulnerable to extradition' due to the ongoing FBI investigation. Is extradition possible? The FBI would first consider if there is enough evidence to charge him with an offence. A formal extradition request would be made. The Home Secretary would have to decide whether to certify the request before it would be sent to Westminster Magistrates Court to consider. A judge would need to be satisfied that his conduct amounts to an extraditable offence by considering whether there was evidence of guilt and if extradition would breach human rights. An order would still need to be signed off by the Home Secretary. Yesterday lawyers claimed an extradition request to the US would be hard to resist. Due to the European agreements we currently have in place, extradition to France would be a more straightforward process. By REBECCA CAMBER, DAILY MAIL Advertisement

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca told the Daily Telegraph it is also reviewing its future with the mentoring scheme: 'Our three-year partnership with Pitch@Palace is due to expire at the end of this year and is currently being reviewed.'

Aon was listed as the initiative's sole 'global partner' but sources insisted the company was not associated with Pitch@Palace and the listing was an error.

Andrew's appearance on Newsnight to explain his friendship with the convicted sex offender and deny allegations of having sex with an under-age teenager has been widely condemned, but the duke is said to being standing by his decision to put his side of the story.

US lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who represents a woman who claims she was a victim of Epstein, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Andrew should come forward to help the ongoing investigation into the disgraced American financier.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked if he would encourage Andrew to co-operate with US authorities about his knowledge of the disgraced financier's activities but he brushed the question off, during an election campaign event at the CBI annual conference, saying 'nice try there'.

It also emerged yesterday that Virginia Giuffre has given an interview to BBC's Panorama.

It is understood that the 35-year-old reiterated her claims that she slept with Andrew when she was just 17 after being trafficked by Epstein.

The interview, which was filmed three weeks ago, is due to be broadcast in the coming weeks.

A spokesman for the BBC said: 'We never comment on investigations.'

The duke's interview on Saturday has been widely criticised, with commentators questioning his responses and condemning his unsympathetic tone and seeming lack of remorse over the friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in jail while facing sex trafficking charges.

The Evening Standard published on its front page the claim made by its columnist Rohan Silva that, while a Downing Street aide specialising in the tech economy, the duke made a racist remark.

He told the newspaper that, when he asked Andrew if the government department responsible for trade 'could be doing a better job', the duke replied: 'Well, if you'll pardon the expression, that really is the n***** in the woodpile.'

Sources have categorically denied that Andrew used the word.

Could Prince Charles cast his brother into the Windsor wilderness? Heir to the throne has long wanted to streamline the monarchy. As Prince Andrew's interview plunges the Royal Family into crisis, RICHARD KAY asks if now is the time to act

You could almost hear the rattle of his breakfast crockery from the other side of the world as Prince Charles digested the backlash over his brother’s disastrous television appearance at the weekend.

It was not just that the debacle was drowning out the Prince’s own royal duties but that Charles was in New Zealand, which has one of the most vocal republican movements in the Commonwealth.

While there is considerable goodwill towards the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, there has been talk about the £700,000 cost to local taxpayers of their last visit four years ago.

For some years Charles has made no secret that when he comes to the throne he foresees a slimmed down monarchy with fewer members, albeit one that is more in touch with modern life. Pictured: Prince Andrew and Prince Charles at Sandringham for the Christmas Day church service in 2011

Against that backdrop, the Andrew fiasco is a further embarrassment, even 11,500 miles away.

For some years Charles has made no secret that when he comes to the throne he foresees a slimmed down monarchy with fewer members, albeit one that is more in touch with modern life. Under his plan the number of front-rank royals, we would see at formal ceremonial occasions would be considerably reduced with Andrew’s daughters Beatrice and Eugenie the most likely to be surplus to requirements.

At times it has led to tensions between the brothers with Andrew quite naturally upset that his daughters, the only two blood Princesses of their generation and with the HRH style, being sidelined in such a high-handed manner.

Prince Charles inspects a guard of honour at Government House in Auckland, New Zealand on Tuesday

Prince Charles prepares to lay a wreath at the Mount Roskill War Memorial Park in Auckland, New Zealand, on the first day of their royal tour

Three years ago it was claimed that the Prince had written to his mother asking her to intervene on behalf of the girls who have a close relationship with their grandmother, often dropping in for tea at Windsor Castle.

Things seemed intractable until the rhythms of life intervened — Eugenie is now in the second year of marriage to accountant’s son Jack Brooksbank and elder sister Beatrice will marry property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi next year. Both Princesses are making futures away from the Royal Family.

But while the issue of his daughters has diminished, their father has been unable to escape the spotlight.

Prince Andrew interviewed by Emily Maitlis for BBC Newsnight regarding links to Jeffrey Epstein

Prince Andrew walking through Buckingham Palace with Emily Maitlis before his 'car crash' interview on his links to Jeffrey Epstein

Just imagine if the Royal Family was a corporation and Prince Andrew a director. Would he still be in a job after Saturday night’s interview?

For ten years up until 2011, Andrew’s official role as Britain’s trade envoy had been to suck up to international businessmen on behalf of Britain. In that time, the line between his official schmoozing on the nation’s behalf, and his networking among the rich on his own behalf, had become alarmingly blurred.

Dubious figures, inevitably wealthy, filled his address book of close friends, from the roistering Saif Gaddafi — son of the murderous former Libyan dictator — to Timur Kulibayev, the billionaire son-in-law of the former president of Kazakhstan. He was the figure who mysteriously paid £3 million over the £12 million asking price for Sunninghill Park, in Windsor Great Park, Andrew’s marital home that he had been unable to sell for five years.

Both Princesses are making futures away from the Royal Family. Princess Eugenie (left) and Princess Beatrice (right)

The Queen cut a sombre figure as she took to her horse for a morning ride around the grounds of Windsor Castle today with her Head Groom Terry Pendry

But then, everyone who knows Andrew well is aware he is obsessed with money. And this is what initially drew him into the unsavoury company of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

One theory is that the Duke of York could lose his status as a working royal when Charles becomes King

Prince Charles was never comfortable with his brother occupying such a sensitive ambassadorial role for which he always thought he was ill-suited.

And over the weekend the Prince was said to have regarded his brother’s decision to grant the BBC an interview with ‘incredulity and alarm’ and had considered the whole enterprise ‘misguided’.

The negative headlines, including yesterday’s poll that showed only six per cent of the public believe Andrew’s explanation of his friendship with Epstein, will hardly have improved the Prince’s frame of mind.

No wonder figures close to Charles have been speculating that it would not just be Beatrice and Eugenie who would be erased from a streamlined Royal Family. So too, they say, would Andrew.

One theory is that the Duke of York could lose his status as a working royal when Charles becomes King. Another more drastic suggestion is that Andrew might have the funding he receives from the Sovereign Grant, the money he is given to run his private office, removed.

The Prince of Wales seemed overcome with emotion during the service in Auckland. Charles and Camilla are on their third visit to New Zealand

Palace insiders insist it is unlikely there will be any such scaling back in his duties, at least in the short term as Andrew enjoys the complete support of the Queen. And that, for now, remains the case.

Prince Charles, 71, and the Duchess of Cornwall, 72, were welcomed to New Zealand with a busy first day of engagements during an eight day royal tour

But if the public backlash worsens and the financial backing from blue-chip companies supporting his main charity Pitch@Palace continues to drain away — KPMG and Aon withdrew their sponsorship yesterday — aides may have to reconsider. If ever Andrew could have done with the wise counsel of his older brother it was this last weekend. Charles, who had his own costly television ‘moment’ 25 years ago when he admitted adultery to the broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, would surely have urged him not to do it.

But the fact is that in recent times the two brothers have had a distant relationship. Things burst into the open in 2012 when Charles made his future vision of a slimmed down monarchy plain for all to see by excluding wider members of the family from the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The Queen struck an elegant ensemble as she headed The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Windsor Great Park in a turquoise ensemble yesterday. It is claimed that Prince Andrew joined her at the service and assured her that his BBC interview went well

That balcony scene was one of the most significant moments of the entire Jubilee. With Prince Philip unwell and in hospital, the Queen lined up with Charles, Camilla, William and Kate and Prince Harry. It was the clearest signal yet that under Charles, the Royal Family would consist of the monarch and the monarch’s immediate family.

The contrast with the last great palace gathering, the Queen’s golden jubilee ten years earlier, could not have been greater. Then, Andrew, Princess Anne and Prince Edward all had prominent roles. Now they were reduced to peripheral figures.

As I reported at the time, Andrew was said to have viewed the demotion as ‘like a dagger to his heart’.

Back then, he had only recently stepped down as Britain’s international trade envoy but, even so, Andrew was hurt. Even greater was his anger at the way he felt Beatrice and Eugenie had been treated in the same year when they lost their round-the-clock police protection, which followed a row over the £500,000 annual cost.

It was a move he bitterly resented because he also saw it as a sign of his own diminishing status.

The Queen and Prince Andrew together at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire on September 15

So what will happen next? Despite their differences, Charles has a good deal of affection for his brother. When Virginia Roberts’ allegations that she had sex with Andrew first became public in 2015, one of the first calls the Duke made was to his elder brother.

Andrew told him the claims were not true. Charles believed him then and believes him now.

A family friend says: ‘Nothing has come along since to make the Prince believe anything other than that Andrew has been telling the truth. The problem is he feels it has become a real mess.’

Downgrading Andrew from a working royal might even worsen things. His only interest outside his family and his charities is playing golf and, with nothing else to distract him, he could possibly become even more of a liability.

After all, when Andrew was first made Britain’s trade ambassador in 2001, Charles often described him as being like ‘a fizzy drink that has been shaken up and the stopper taken off’.

These days, the fizz has long gone out of the Duke of York. But if ever he needed to make a phone call to his brother, it is now.

Prince Andrew 'teenager' hits back: Jeffrey Epstein's alleged trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre who claims she had sex with the Duke has filmed a BBC interview about Royal's denials

By Sebastian Murphy-Bates

Jeffrey Epstein's alleged trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre has filmed an interview with the BBC in a move to shatter Prince Andrew's denials that he had sex with her.

The 35-year-old, who says she had intercourse with the Duke, spoke to Panorama before the Royal appeared on Saturday's Newsnight.

She is believed to have claimed during the conversation that the prince slept with her when she was 17.

Ms Giuffre claims that billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein trafficked her to London from the US.

Ms Giuffre (pictured) claims that billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein trafficked her to London from the US

And Mirror Online reports that she is furious her interview - which was filmed three weeks before Andrew's Newsnight chat aired - has not aired yet.

A source close to her told the website that she 'made no bones' about the Duke's denial during her sit-down with Panorama, in which she is said to demand he comes clean.

It comes amid speculation that Ms Giuffre's interview was deliberately held back so that it didn't jeopardise 59-year-old Andrew's interview.

The source said the her legal team have now idea why the Panorama interview has not aired.

They claim that every broadcaster to have interviewed Ms Giuffre has aired them 'almost immediately' but the BBC hasn't.

But BBC sources says that the interview forms part of a larger investigation and it is for that reason that it hasn't yet aired.

A lawyer for three victims of Epstein has demanded the Duke testify to the FBI under oath.

Prince Andrew (pictured during a Pitch@Palace event in November 2015) is facing a furious backlash as companies consider their relationship with the Duke

Prince Andrew denied any knowledge of the financier's perversions during his conversation with Emily Maitlis.

Lawyer Gloria Allred said that she could not see how Andrew would not have known that Epstein was exploiting underage minors.

Spencer Kulvin, who also represents a victim of Epstein, said that Prince Andrew's decision to go on camera 'shocked' him because anything he said could be utilised in a cross-examination.

He added that he doesn't think there's any way a man who visited all of Epstein's homes could be unaware of girls being brought in and out.

Explosive exchanges with BBC Newsnight that saw Prince Andrew flounder in hour-long 'juggernaut crash' It comes after the Prince's 'car crash' BBC interview. Sources close to the Duke of York said he wanted to address the issues head-on and did so with 'honesty and humility', despite a enormous online backlash slamming the eighth in line to the throne for a series of increasingly egregious remarks On 'unbecoming' Epstein and their friendship with him and Ghislaine Maxwell Prince Andrew [PA]: 'Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes.' Emily Maitlis [EM]: 'Unbecoming? He was a sex offender.' EM: 'Do you regret the whole friendship with Epstein?' PA: 'Now...still not and the reason being is that the people I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn either by him or because of him were actually very useful.' PA: 'It would be a considerable stretch to say that he [Epstein] was a very, very close friend. But he had the most extraordinary ability to bring extraordinary people together and that's the bit that I remember.' PA: 'I stayed with him and that's the bit that...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.' EM: 'Am I right in thinking you threw a birthday party for Epstein's girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, at Sandringham?' PA: 'No, it was a shooting weekend.' EM: 'A shooting weekend?' PA: 'Just a straightforward, a straightforward shooting weekend.' On staying with Epstein in New York after his conviction for prostituting a child EM, referring to the prince's stay at Epstein's New York home in 2010 after he was released from prison: 'You were staying at the house...of a convicted sex offender.' PA: 'It was a convenient place to stay... I've gone through this in my mind so many times. At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can 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 my judgement was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that's just the way it is.' EM: 'It might seem a funny way to break off a friendship – a four-day house party of sorts with a dinner.' PA: 'That's a very stark way of putting it. Yes you're absolutely right. But actually the truth of it is that I actually only saw him for about... the dinner party, the walk in the park and probably passing in the passage.' On his Pizza Express alibi EM: 'Why would you remember a Pizza Express birthday and being at home?' PA: 'Because going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do, a very unusual thing for me to do.' On not being able to sweat and not liking to hug EM: 'She [Virginia Roberts] was very specific about that night. She described dancing with you. You profusely sweating.' PA: 'There's a slight problem with the sweating because I have a peculiar medical condition which is that I don't sweat or I didn't sweat at the time.' PA: 'I am not one to, as it were, hug, and public displays of affection are not something that I do.' His denial that he met or had sex with any of Epstein's 'slaves' EM: 'For the record, is there any way you could have had sex with that young woman or any young woman trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein in any of his residences?' PA: 'No and without putting too fine a point on it, if you're a man it is a positive act to have sex with somebody...it's very difficult to try and forget a positive action and I do not remember anything.' EM: 'Would you be willing to testify or give a statement under oath if you were asked?' PA: 'If push came to shove and the legal advice was to do so, then I would be duty bound to do so.' Advertisement

Duchess of York says 'buck stops with' her ex-husband Prince Andrew's private secretary Amanda Thirsk over his 'car crash' Newsnight interview

By Sebastian Murphy-Bates

The Duchess of York says that the buck stops with Prince Andrew's private secretary Amanda Thirsk over his 'car crash' Newsnight interview.

Friends of the duchess said she was shocked to return to the UK from an overseas trip to find that the BBC interview went ahead.

They told the Telegraph that Thirsk should have kept the Duke of York clear of the 50-minute sit-down with Emily Maitlis.

Sources say that Andrew's car crash interview should be blamed on his private secretary Amanda Thirsk (pictured, left, with the Duke at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year) and that the Duchess (right, with Andrew) had nothing to do with it

It comes as the prince faces furious backlash over his friendship with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The programme centred on whether or not the Royal had sex with Virginia Giuffre after Epstein allegedly trafficked her from the US to London.

Sources have said that the Duchess had no involvement in the decision to go ahead with the interview.

They added that she should not have 'put him up to it' because he's 'not very quick on his feet'.

It comes after the Duchess described her ex-husband as a 'giant of a principled man' in a supportive post on Instagram on Friday.

They divorced in 1996 after being married for 10 years but they still live together in Windsor.

A second source said that Andrew should not have been put before a 'forensic interviewer' for 50 minutes to talk about one topic.

They said the matter should have been featured in a wider documentary that takes into account the work he does.

But the source admitted that the private secretary couldn't make Andrew do anything he didn't want to do.

The Duchess has previously suggested that her then-husband handled negotiations with Epstein on her behalf in 2011.

She said that 'the Duke sorted out my debts' as she admitted that 'having anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein' was a 'terrible error of judgment'.

So much for family 'rule' cited by Prince Andrew that one parent was always at home: Photos show Duke of York on a US trip in 2001 while his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was in India

During his disastrous TV interview, Prince Andrew suggested he could not have met Virginia Roberts at Tramp nightclub because he was ‘at home with the children’.

The Duke of York said he was taking care of Beatrice and Eugenie because his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was away.

Andrew said he and the duchess had a ‘simple rule in the family that when one is away the other is there’.

He used this as part of his defence against the allegations that he danced with Miss Roberts – the most high profile of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s victims – at the famed celebrity nightspot in Mayfair before having sex with her on the night of March 10, 2001.

Andrew said he and the duchess had a ‘simple rule in the family that when one is away the other is there’. But photographs and reports suggest they broke this pact only four months earlier. November 4, 2000: Prince Andrew with Steven Spielberg while the duchess was in India

At the same time as the duke was travelling, the duchess travelled to India to make a film for the BBC about the floods that devastated the Bengal plains. Pictured: Sarah Ferguson in India on November 3

However, photographs and reports from the time, unearthed by the Daily Mail, show the duke and duchess broke this pact only four months earlier.

Andrew flew to New York at the end of October 2000 to attend a ‘hookers and pimps’-themed Halloween party – where he was pictured with Epstein’s girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.

The duke then travelled to a showbusiness ball at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, where he handed a Bafta award to film director Steven Spielberg on November 4.

He also carried out some official duties on behalf of the Queen. Reports from the time said he returned to the UK on November 10. At the same time, the duchess travelled to India to make a film for the BBC about the floods that devastated the Bengal plains.

She trekked up to the foothills of the Himalayas and was photographed in Dharamshala, the Dalai Lama’s residence, on November 4. Other press photographs show her meeting aid workers at a missionary in Kolkata, then called Calcutta, two days later.

At the time of their trips, Beatrice was 12 and was halfway through her first term at St George’s School in Ascot, Berkshire, where she was a day pupil. Eugenie was ten and attended Coworth Park School in Windlesham, Surrey.

No pictures could be found of the girls during this period and it is unclear who looked after them.

A little over four months later, Andrew is accused of dancing with Miss Roberts at Tramp.

Miss Roberts, now known as Virginia Giuffre, claims she was forced to have sex with the duke at Maxwell’s mews house in Belgravia afterwards. She was 17 at the time and claims it was the first of three sexual encounters with Andrew. The prince denies the allegations.

When asked during the Newsnight interview whether he remembered dancing at Tramp, he replied: ‘No, that couldn’t have happened because the date that’s being suggested I was at home with the children.’

He was then asked by Emily Maitlis whether he was sure of this, to which the duke replied: ‘On that particular day that we now understand is the date which is the tenth of March, I was at home, I was with the children and I’d taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at, I suppose, sort of four or five in the afternoon.

‘And then because the duchess was away, we have a simple rule in the family that when one is away the other one is there. I was on terminal leave at the time from the Royal Navy so therefore I was at home.’ In March 2001, Andrew, his ex-wife and their daughters lived at their 12-bed Sunninghill Park home in Surrey. It is roughly ten miles from Woking, a drive of perhaps 23 minutes.

The 30-mile drive to Mayfair in central London on a Saturday evening might take just over an hour.

The duchess does appear to have been away at the time in question – promoting Wedgwood china in the US, where she was pictured on March 9.