Keir Starmer calls on Andrew to testify in US over Jeffrey Epstein links | Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Andrew Mounbatten-Windsor should testify before the US Congress about his links to deceased child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Keir Starmer has said.

The prime minister, who is in Japan to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, was asked by journalists whether the former prince should apologize to the disgraced financier’s victims and offer what he knows about his crimes.

Mounbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of her titles last year due to the fallout from her friendship with the billionaire, features heavily in the latest installment of the Epstein files, which were released by the US justice department on Friday.

The king’s brother is seen kneeling over a woman lying on the ground. The cache of documents also includes emails showing Mountbatten-Windsor invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace in September 2010, two years after he was convicted of soliciting 14-year-old girls for sex.

Last year, Suhas Subramanyam, a Democratic member of the House oversight committee, asked Mountbatten-Windsor to sit for a deposition as part of an investigation into the U.S. government’s handling of the case against Epstein.

Subramanyam said Mountbatten-Windsor “is hiding from us and I think she will try to hide from people who are doing meaningful research on this issue.”

Speaking after the latest Epstein files were disclosed, Starmer said: “First of all, I have always approached this issue with Epstein’s victims in mind. Epstein’s victims should be the first priority. As for whether there will be an apology, that is Andrew’s matter.”

“But yes, in terms of testimony, I’ve always said that anyone with information should be prepared to share that information no matter what is asked of them. You can’t be victim-centered if you’re not prepared to do that.”

Documents show that a month before the Buckingham Palace reception, Epstein suggested to Mountbatten-Windsor that he could arrange for her to have dinner with a 26-year-old “intelligent, beautiful and trustworthy” Russian woman. Mountbatten-Windsor apparently replied that she would be “delighted” to see the woman. He also asked Epstein if it was “good to be free” from house arrest.

Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein were photographed walking together in New York’s Central Park later that year. Mountbatten-Windsor claimed in a fateful Newsnight interview broadcast in 2019 that she traveled to the US to personally end her friendship with Epstein in light of his conviction.

But newly released emails suggest Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal hosted a star-studded dinner at Epstein’s New York home in honor of Mountbatten-Windsor during the trip. Siegal invited film director Woody Allen and talk show host and former senior aide to Bill Clinton George Stephanopoulos.

Mountbatten-Windsor appears to have continued to send Epstein intimate family photos featuring her adult daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

In 2022, Mounbatten-Windsor reportedly paid a £12 million settlement to the late Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was forced to have sex with him after he was kidnapped by Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, a close friend of the former prince. Mountbatten-Windsor made the payment without admitting liability and has always denied any wrongdoing.

But he and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson were ostracized from royal circles over their decision to maintain their friendship with Epstein after his initial conviction. Epstein gave Ferguson £15,000 to pay off his debts, and Ferguson described him as a “brother” in an email. [she] “I always wished.”

Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on new child sexual abuse charges. The files also detail apparent correspondence between Mountbatten-Windsor and Maxwell. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in a US prison for child sex trafficking.

These include an email from Mountbatten-Windsor to Maxwell about a proposed trip to the United States in 2005. Mountbatten-Windsor wrote: “I am in your hands (literally) until Saturday/Sunday.” He signed: “I love you A xxx.”

Newly released documents contain a series of embarrassing revelations about prominent British figures. They show that Epstein sent £10,000 to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, the husband of Labor Party member Peter Mandelson, the year after his conviction. The emails suggest this was to fund an osteopathy course.

They also reveal that Lord Mandelson requested to stay at one of Epstein’s properties while he was serving his first prison sentence. The terms of Epstein’s sentence allowed him to work in his office during the day and return to jail every night.

Mandelson said Friday that it was “wrong” to continue his relationship with Epstein after his conviction. He added that he was “never guilty or complicit” in his crimes. He was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US last September after it was revealed that he had sent supportive messages to Epstein after his crime was revealed.

The files show that Richard Branson met Epstein at the Virgin Group founder’s private Necker Island in 2013 and advised him on restoring his reputation in light of his 2008 conviction.

Branson told Epstein in an email: “I’d love to see you whenever you’re in the area. Just bring your harem!”

“I guess if Bill Gates was willing to say that you were an excellent advisor to him, that you made a mistake years ago by sleeping with a 17 1/2-year-old woman and were punished for it,” Branson wrote.

“You more than learned your lesson and haven’t done anything against the law since, and yes, as a single man, you seem to have a penchant for women. But there’s nothing wrong with that.”

A Virgin Group spokesman said: “Any contact Richard and Joan Branson had with Epstein occurred on only a handful of occasions over 12 years ago and was limited to group or business settings, such as a charity tennis event.

“When Epstein offered a charitable donation, the Bransons asked their team to conduct due diligence before accepting the donation, which uncovered serious allegations.

“As a result of our due diligence, Virgin Unite did not accept the donation and Richard and Joan decided not to meet or speak to Epstein again.

“If they had the full footage and information there would have been no contact. Richard believes Epstein’s actions were disgusting and supports the right to justice for his many victims.”