The Duke of York has been dealt a major blow after KPMG, a sponsor of his flagship business project said it was not renewing support.

It emerged the accountancy firm is understood to have made the decision at the end of October as calls continued for him to make a statement about Jeffrey Epstein.

The revelation follows Prince Andrew's appearance on BBC Newsnight in what critics called a "car-crash" interview.

In the interview, the Queen's third child said he still did not regret his friendship with US financier Epstein - who took his own life in August while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in the US.

READ MORE: Prince Andrew criticised over 'disastrous' Newsnight interview

During the interview, the Duke of York denied sleeping with one of Epstein's victims Virginia Giuffre, who was 17 at the time, saying one encounter in 2001 did not happen as he was in Woking taking his daughter Princess Beatrice to Pizza Express for a party.

The Herald:

Andrew is now facing the embarrassing prospect of charities and institutions he is associated with distancing themselves as lawyers for the convicted sex offender's victims urged him to tell US authorities what he knows.

The Queen and other senior royals are said to "back and believe" Andrew's defence of himself in the BBC interview "100 per cent", sources have told the Evening Standard.

Now it has emerged KPMG's sponsorship contract with Andrew's Pitch@Palace, a mentoring scheme for tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, would not be renewed.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: "KPMG's contract with Pitch@Palace ended at the end of October. A full programme of Pitch@Palace events is continuing across the United Kingdom."

READ MORE: Kirsty Strickland - Prince Andrew's car crash interview exposes the fault line in Britain's power structures

The scheme was founded by the prince in 2014 and involves entrepreneurs competing for the chance to pitch their business ideas to influential business figures.

The project operates in 64 countries and claims to have created more than 6,300 jobs.

The fall-out from Andrew's Newsnight appearance has already begun with the Outward Bound Trust, which the duke supports as patron, saying it will hold a board meeting in the next few days when members will discuss issues raised by Saturday's interview.

Meanwhile the termly student jury at Huddersfield University, where Andrew is chancellor, has voted on a motion to lobby the duke to resign - the result of the ballot will be published in the next few days.

The Herald:

And Jo Swinson led criticism from political leaders over Prince Andrew’s “disheartening” remarks about his friendship with Epstein (above).

The Liberal Democrat leader condemned his use of language about sex and failure to put the late financier’s victims at the centre of his BBC interview.

However, Boris Johnson refused to be drawn when asked whether he shared “the nation’s incredulity” about the royal’s account of his behaviour.

“I think, like most people watching it, I found it a very troubling thing to see,” said Ms Swinson during a campaign visit in St Albans. “And, I just couldn’t quite understand how somebody could be talking about their relationship with that man without recognising, or understanding, or discussing, how he felt about those victims. And I felt they should have been much more at the centre of that discussion.”

She continued: “Those girls and young women who were trafficked, who were sexually abused by Epstein. And how you could have a whole interview discussing that without him expressing his views, his sympathy, his feelings about what those young women had gone through I just thought was really disheartening.”