Pizza Express conducted an internal inquiry into Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's claim that he visited their Woking restaurant in 2001, BBC Newsnight has learned. The former prince made the assertion during his 2019 Newsnight interview, stating he was at the Surrey branch on the day he was accused of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre.

The inquiry, undertaken by Pizza Express's senior management team in 2019, aimed to ascertain the plausibility of the claim due to its public interest. Despite their efforts, the company found no records or evidence to confirm or deny whether Prince Andrew had visited the Woking restaurant on the date in question. Similarly, research by Newsnight has yielded no independent accounts of anyone seeing him there on the specified night in 2001.

Prince Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing. In the 2019 interview, he detailed an alibi for the time of the alleged assault, stating he had taken his daughter, Princess Beatrice, to a Pizza Express in Woking in the late afternoon before spending the evening at home. He mentioned that his staff had reviewed his diary to corroborate this account.

This particular detail from the Newsnight interview gained significant international attention, with some media outlets characterizing it as an alibi. The resurfacing of the claim comes in the context of the recently unsealed documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew's past arrest and release under investigation by Thames Valley Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Virginia Giuffre alleges she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on multiple occasions, including when she was 17. She claims one such encounter occurred on March 10, 2001, followed by a night at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of the former prince.

While the majority of Prince Andrew's 2019 interview was broadcast, a portion discussing the Pizza Express visit in greater detail was omitted due to time constraints. In that segment, he elaborated on the circumstances, explaining he was with his daughter as part of a rule to ensure one parent was with the children when the other was away.

The lack of corroborating evidence from Pizza Express, combined with the absence of any witness accounts from that specific night, leaves a significant gap in the timeline presented by the former prince. Prince Andrew has not responded to requests for comment regarding the Pizza Express inquiry.

The investigation by the pizza chain highlights the intense public scrutiny surrounding the allegations and Prince Andrew's past associations. The unsealed Epstein files continue to bring renewed attention to individuals connected to the disgraced financier and his associates.