Hello and welcome to bbc news. Prince andrew has answered questions for the first time about his relationship with the financiers Jeffrey Epstein. The prince has been accused of having links to the billionaire who killed himself in prison while awaiting trial on a sex trafficking charges. With an exclusive interview with bbc, Prince Andrew was asked to asked about his relationship with one of the women, Virginia Roberts. Our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. He is continuing with royal duties. Last sunday he was at the cenotaph, laying a wreath with his nephews, and yet for month after month, he has been the focus of troubling questions. Prince andrew, the queens second son, one moment seen waving from the doorway of the new york home of a convicted child sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, and photographed strolling through central park with him. The headlines have been lurid, relentless and deeply damaging. Most serious of all is the allegation that andrew himself had sex with a girl
The United Nations is hosting its penultimate round of talks to develop a legally binding plastic pollution reduction treaty in Ottawa, with a focus on microplastics.