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Prince Andrew: TripAdvisor suspends reviews of Pizza Express duke says he visited

Pizza Express in Woking

TripAdvisor have suspended new reviews for the Pizza Express in Woking which Prince Andrew cited in his interview about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to BBC's Newsnight programme, the prince claimed he was in Pizza Express on a night he is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

He said: "I was with the children and I'd taken [daughter Princess] Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at, I suppose, sort of 4pm or 5pm in the afternoon."

Reviews are suspended on the Woking Pizza Express branch page. Pic: TripAdvisor
Reviews are suspended on the Woking Pizza Express branch page. Pic: TripAdvisor

When asked why he would remember a meal at Pizza Express 18 years later, he said: "Because going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do, a very unusual thing for me to do."

Within minutes of his explanation, TripAdvisor and Google were flooded with fake reviews of the Woking restaurant as viewers satirised the duke's comments.

In reference to the duke's admission that he had a medical condition that meant he was unable to sweat, one reviewer wrote: "Love this place. I had a cracking pizza here in 2001. I remember it was 2001 because it was very strange the guy next to me had an American Hot pizza with extra chillies… not a drop of sweat came off him. Very odd."

Prince Andrew denies accusations he slept with a 17-year-old
Prince Andrew denies accusations he slept with a 17-year-old

Both sites have deleted the prank reviews and any customers or would-be jokers who go to the TripAdvisor page for the Working branch of Pizza Express are now greeted with an alert explaining reviews are suspended.

The message posted at the top of the page in a bright red box reads: "Message from TripAdvisor: Due to a recent event that has attracted media attention and has caused an influx of review submissions that do not describe a first-hand experience, we have temporarily suspended publishing new reviews for this listing.

"If you’ve had a firsthand experience at this property, please check back soon - we’re looking forward to receiving your review!"

It comes as BT and three Australian universities joined the list of organisations distancing themselves from Prince Andrew after his BBC Newsnight interview.