Prince Andrew resigns from Outward Bound Trust as aides confirm he will continue working for Pitch@Palace

The Duke of York has resigned from his position as patron of the Outward Bound Trust as the catastrophic fallout his Newsnight interview continues.

Huddersfield University also revealed that he had stepped down as Chancellor with immediate effect.

It came as Buckingham Palace revealed the Duke would continue working on his flagship Pitch@Palace initiative but will do so in a private capacity.

Despite saying in a statement that he would "step back from public duties for the foreseeable future", the Duke is examining ways of continuing the successful mentoring scheme for tech start-ups and entrepreneurs which he founded in 2014.

It would become a private initiative separate from the public work he has relinquished temporarily amid a backlash following a TV interview about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

High-profile business sponsors KPMG, Standard Chartered and Inmarsat, a British satellite telecommunications company, have all said they will not renew their financial support for Pitch.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "He will continue to work on Pitch but will look at how to do that outside and entirely separate from the palace."

It is thought that he will not have any involvement with the dozens of charities, organisations and military units he is associated with as patron or in other roles.

The Outward Bound Trust said in a statement on Thursday: "The Board of The Outward Bound Trust has today accepted the resignation as Patron of HRH The Duke of York following his announcement yesterday that he will be withdrawing from public duties for the foreseeable future."

Huddersfield University said: "Due to the circumstances and in discussion with the university, he has decided to step down immediately to allow the university to appoint a successor."

Its Students' Union said in response: "We know that students will welcome this decision, and the Students' Union would like to offer our sympathy to the victims of Epstein and all those affected by sexual abuse across the world."

Pressure had been mounting on the duke in the wake of his so-called 'car crash' Newsnight interview, with a growing number of multimillion-pound businesses, universities and charities distancing themselves from him and Pitch@Palace.

He faced criticism for showing a lack of empathy towards Epstein's victims and a lack of remorse over his friendship with the financier, who took his own life while in prison earlier this year awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

In the interview, the Duke denied claims that he slept with Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, on three separate occasions, twice while she was underage.

A US lawyer representing some of Epstein's alleged victims has raised the possibility of questioning the duke under oath over his relationship with Epstein.

Discussing how the Duke could become involved in any legal process, Lisa Bloom said that, as an attorney, she had "the right" to seek a statement from individuals she deemed to have "relevant information".

Ms Bloom told BBC Breakfast: "It's not going to be easy to subpoena someone like Prince Andrew, he's obviously not walking down the street where a process server can just hand him a piece of paper, it's a lot more complicated.

"If he refused to come, we may have a diplomatic situation between (the UK) and (the US). I hope it doesn't come to that.

"I take him at his word that he says he is going to co-operate, and I hope that's what's going to happen."

Asked if the Duke of York was right to step back from public life, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on a visit to Bedfordshire: "All I can say is that it is very important that all the victims of Jeffrey Epstein get justice and the law must be done and must be seen to be done."