Prince Andrew dined with Jeffrey Epstein when pedophile was under house arrest, court papers suggest
Emails raise questions over claims the Duke of York made during his infamous Newsnight interview.
The Duke of York visited Jeffrey Epstein while the paedophile financier was under house arrest for sex offences, new court documents suggest, raising questions over claims made in his infamous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019.
In his BBC interview with Emily Maitlis, Prince Andrew said he met Epstein only once after he left jail – to break off their friendship in December 2010. But the new evidence appears to reveal an undisclosed dinner with the disgraced tycoon in June that year.
“Andrew just sat next to me at dinner,” Epstein wrote in an email dated June 14, 2010, when he was under house arrest at his Florida property.
Epstein served 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2008. A year of house arrest ended in July 2010.
Andrew, 63, told Maitlis he visited his friend in New York in December 2010 to end their relationship. The court documents suggest, however, that the two men remained in regular contact between April 2010 and February 2011.
The correspondence between the prince and Epstein was set out in court papers from a civil case brought by the government of the US Virgin Islands against JP Morgan in New York. A string of emails between Epstein and Jes Staley, then the banking giant’s chief executive, show the financier presenting himself as an intermediary between the duke and the banker.
“Andrew just sat next to me at dinner,” Epstein wrote to Staley in June 2010. “We will try to connect this week.”
Weeks earlier, in April 2010, Epstein wrote to Andrew: “Jes Staley will be in London on Thurs the 22 … you should meet if you are in town.” The prince said he was unavailable but looked forward to visiting New York, the papers say.
After the apparent dinner in June and his release from house arrest, Epstein’s contact with Andrew continued, the documents suggest. “About to connect with Andrew,” Epstein wrote to Staley on September 2, 2010.
On February 28, 2011, months after the prince had visited Epstein in New York to end their friendship, the financier wrote to Staley: “Andrew asked for your London schedule.”
In the Newsnight interview, Maitlis asked Andrew: “In 2008, he [Epstein] was convicted of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution and he was jailed … how did you feel about it?”
The prince said: “Well, I ceased contact with him after I was aware that he was under investigation, and that was later in 2006, and I wasn’t in touch with him again until 2010.” Maitlis asked: “So, no contact?” Andrew replied: “No contact.” Maitlis asked about the New York meeting in December 2010. “Was that the only time you saw him after he was convicted?” she asked. “Yes, yeah,” the prince said. “Did you see him or speak to him again?” Maitlis pressed him. “No,” Andrew insisted.
The US Virgin Islands has alleged that JP Morgan was “complicit in the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein”, turning a blind eye to allegations against their client in return for money and favours. The bank has in turn accused territory officials of taking money to ignore activities at Epstein’s island, Little St James.
Epstein, 66, killed himself in jail while awaiting trial on child sex charges in August 2019. Andrew paid a $US5 million last year to settle a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she was forced to have sex with Epstein’s friends, including the duke. Andrew, who denied her claims, accepted no liability as part of the settlement. The prince’s office was asked for comment.
The Times
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