Overview
- Pizza Express disclosed Monday it had quietly carried out an internal inquiry to check Prince Andrew’s claim that he took Princess Beatrice to its Woking branch on March 10, 2001.
- The company said the probe found no business records or witnesses that either confirmed or contradicted his presence at the restaurant that night.
- BBC Newsnight said it conducted extensive independent inquiries and likewise could not find anyone who recalled seeing Andrew at the Woking branch.
- The Metropolitan Police refused to confirm or deny whether protection officers accompanied Andrew on that date, citing national security as the reason for withholding the information.
- Andrew remains under investigation after his February arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and reporters note that lost records and staff turnover over 25 years make retrospective verification difficult and fuel debate over disclosure.