Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world
Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been pictured lying across the legs of five people in an image released in a huge dump of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In the undated photo, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell appears to peer down and smile at the former prince, who is smiling with his eyes closed and his head near a woman’s lap.
Maxwell – the former girlfriend of Epstein, who is currently serving 20 years in prison for her role in a decade-long scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor girls with him – can be seen standing beside another woman.
All six people apart from Maxwell and the former Duke of York have had their faces redacted in the image, which is a photograph of a picture in a photo frame.
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in November by the King following controversy over his links to Epstein. He strenuously denies any wrongdoing. In a previously issued statement, he said: “At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.”
open image in gallery
The photo released by the US Department of Justice appears to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reclining across the laps of five people (PA Media)
A trove of documents, including court records, footage and images, was uploaded on Friday night to the US Department of Justice website, which held users in a queue as it experienced an “extremely high volume of search requests”.
Former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson also featured in the newly released files. In one photo, she is seen sitting on a sofa next to a woman whose identity has been redacted. In another image, she appears smiling at the camera while posing on a street, again with a woman whose identity has been shielded.
In the latest documents, there are also multiple images of former US president Bill Clinton lounging in a hot tub, as well as Epstein with a host of celebrities and high-profile figures, including Michael Jackson, Richard Branson, Mick Jagger and Lord Peter Mandelson.
Being photographed or mentioned in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing and many of those featured in the latest release have previously denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
open image in gallery
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in November by the King following controversy over his links to Epstein (AP)
The data dump came after US deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said “several hundred thousand” documents would be released ahead of a legal deadline.
He said the need to protect the victims of sex offender Epstein meant thousands more would be released over the coming weeks.
The US Department of Justice are legally obligated to make all files related to the investigation into Epstein public by midnight on Friday following the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
open image in gallery
Former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson also featured in the newly released files (DOJ)
The paedophile financier was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan, New York, in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Among the hundreds of photos included in the files are also undated photos of Maxwell standing outside the door of 10 Downing Street and posing with former US president Bill Clinton and actor Kevin Spacey.
Many of the photos and documents are heavily redacted, prompting criticism from US lawmakers and lawyers for Epstein’s victims.
open image in gallery
Richard Branson appears with Epstein in a newly released photo (DOJ)
Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican who pressed for the law forcing the disclosure, said: “Unfortunately, today’s document release by AG Pam Bondi and DAG Todd Blanche grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law that Donald Trump signed just 30 days ago.”
Andrew has faced allegations, which he strenuously denies, that he sexually assaulted a teenage Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. He paid Ms Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.
US politicians have criticised him for his “silence” after he missed a deadline last month to respond to their request to sit for an interview about Epstein.
