The firms cutting ties with Prince Andrew in wake of scandal

A number of businesses, charities and educational organisations are severing or reconsidering their ties with Prince Andrew.

BT said on Wednesday it will no longer work with a company that counts the Duke of York as a patron. The prince is reported to either be a patron of or have an official role at more than 200 charities, including two dozen which mainly work with children or young people.

Andrew’s entrepreneurial scheme Pitch@Palace faces an exodus of support from organisations seemingly fearing damage to their reputation if associated with the Queen’s second son.

Related: Prince Andrew was an abuser, Epstein accuser says in TV interview

Pitch@Palace, which hosts pitching events for small companies, has removed its webpage listing corporate supporters but companies have made public statements dissociating themselves from the organisation.

KPMG

The accountancy firm, a founding Pitch@Palace partner, said on Monday that its sponsorship contract had expired at the end of October and would not be renewed.

Standard Chartered

On Tuesday, the banking services company said it would not be renewing its sponsorship of Pitch@Palace – which claims to have generated more than 6,000 jobs – in December, citing “commercial reasons”.

English National Ballet

The company was asked to confirm whether Andrew would remain as patron after reports that senior figures within the institution were lobbying for him to be removed. A spokesperson said trusts were discussing the matter.

Aon

Insurance company Aon asked for its logo to be removed from the PitchPalace website, saying it had never been involved in the scheme in any capacity.

Advertising Week Europe

The organisation, another supporter of Pitch@Palace, was reported to not be inviting it to be part of its annual conference in March.

Huddersfield University

A student panel has passed a motion to lobby the duke to resign as its chancellor. It read: “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.”

However, a spokesman for the university defended Andrew, saying his “enthusiasm for innovation entrepreneurship is a natural fit with the work of the university” and citing his “emphatic” denial of the allegations.

Murdoch University

The university in Perth, Australia, announced on Wednesday it had advised Buckingham Palace it would no longer participate in Pitch@Palace from next year.

“We remain committed to supporting innovators and entrepreneurs,” a spokesman said. “However, in the current circumstances we have decided that our efforts in this area are best served through other means.”

Bond University

Another Australian university, in the Gold Coast of Queensland, has said that although it was preparing to consider working again with Pitch@Palace in 2020, “in light of recent events, the university does not intend to seek any further involvement”.

RMIT University

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia ended its involvement with Pitch@Palace in October and said it was committed to ensuring its campus remains “a safe and inclusive place to work and study”.

Inmarsat

The telecommunications company is also reported to not be renewing its sponsorship of Pitch@Palace.

Gravity Road

The tech company, a supporter of Pitch@Palace, is another reported to be no longer working with the initiative.

A number of other organisations are reviewing their links with Pitch@Palace, though some are understood to be continuing to support it.

London Metropolitan University is to review Andrew’s role as patron at a board of governors meeting next week. “The university opposes all forms of discrimination, abuse, human trafficking and any activity that is contrary to the university’s values,” it added.

The University of Wollongong in Australia has said it is “currently undertaking an annual review of its future involvement in Pitch@Palace”.

The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca’s three-year partnership with Pitch@Palace is due to expire at the end of this year and is being reviewed.

The educational charity Outward Bound Trust, which has a long association with the royal family, is holding a board meeting this week to discuss whether Andrew should remain in the role. The duke succeeded his father as patron this year. Prince Philip had had a 65-year relationship with the charity.

Hult International Business School will complete its involvement in the current Pitch@Palace event in early December, but it is reviewing its future involvement.

The Jubilee Sailing Trust, a charity encouraging people with disabilities to sail, will be discussing Andrew’s role as patron at a meeting of trustees next month.

The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, founded by easyJet’s Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is understood to be continuing its support for Pitch@Palace for the time being.

Barclays Bank has recently renewed its sponsorship of the initiative, but is understood to be keeping a close eye on the situation.

Cisco, the IT multinational, said it ended its involvement with Pitch@Palace in June 2019.