Kay Burley is facing mounting backlash after she unexpectedly came to the defence of Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on BBC's Newsnight.
The special episode of the flagship political analysis show, which aired on Monday night, centered on Pizza Express launching an internal inquiry into Mountbatten-Windsor's 2019 claim that he was at the Woking branch of the chain at the time the late Virginia Giuffre Roberts said he had slept with her.
Mt. Mountbatten-Windsor denied having relations with Giuffre Roberts, a prominent accuser of Jeffrey Epstein, on three separate occasions in 2001, twice while she was underage under US law.
During the episode, guests Lisa Phillips, an Epstein survivor and campaigner, and Alex Davies-Jones MP, Minister for Victims, urged others who may have suffered abuse at the hands of Mountbatten-Windsor, Epstein, or Ghislaine Maxwell to come forward.
As the guests shared their testimonies, Burley interrupted to say, 'We should just accept that he was a war hero. We should just throw that in.'
The comment caused both Phillips and Davies-Jones to look at the presenter in disbelief, as they seemed to jump to Mountbatten-Windsor's defence while sitting with survivors of Epstein's abuse.
Mountbatten-Windsor served in the Royal Navy for 22 years, including active service during the 1982 Falklands conflict. He was stripped of his military titles following the Epstein scandal, but was allowed to retain his South Atlantic medal for his involvement in that war.
Many viewers have called Burley out for her poor taste comment, especially given the allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor. They have expressed their outrage on social media, labeling the moment 'abysmal' and 'unhinged.'
As the backlash continues to mount, viewers are questioning why Burley felt the need to stick up for Mountbatten-Windsor, even in the presence of Epstein survivors.
The BBC has not commented on the incident, but representatives for Burley have been reached out to for further clarification.
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