Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor “had consensual sex” with one of Jeffrey Epstein’s employees, according to a journalist close to the paedophile financier.
In a private email exchange released as part of the latest tranche of documents related to the Epstein case, journalist Landon Thomas jnr advised Epstein to distance himself from Andrew, suggesting that his relationship with the then Duke of York was “keeping the story alive”.
The latest documents appear to show that Thomas jnr, a former New York Times reporter, enjoyed a close relationship with Epstein and even tipped off the convicted sex offender when he found out that journalist John Connolly was looking into him for his book Filthy Rich, which came out in 2016.
Responding to an email from Epstein in January 2015, in which the financier suggested a former girlfriend who travelled with him may be able to exonerate him, Thomas jnr wrote: “I think the big issue is separating yourself from Andrew. I mean, I can see why a statement might help in some way – but it’s Andrew [not Clinton and the rest] that is keeping the story alive.”
Bill Clinton, the former US President, has never been accused of wrongdoing and has strongly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Thomas jnr added: “Until you are able to come forward and address that, the story lives on. I mean in the end he had consensual sex with [redacted]. And [redacted] worked for you. The rest is atmospherics.
“You have moved on! People don’t know that and can’t accept that unless you say as much.”
Virginia Giuffre publicly accused Mountbatten-Windsor of raping and abusing her on three separate occasions when she was 17.
Giuffre, who died in April this year, repeated the allegations in her posthumous memoir – claiming the first incident took place when she was allegedly trafficked to London in March 2001.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied the allegations, and a civil claim brought in the US was settled out of court with no admission of guilt.
When contacted by The Telegraph on Wednesday, Thomas jnr said Epstein never told him Giuffre had sex with Mountbatten-Windsor, but said he was repeating what he had read.
Thomas jnr said: “He never told me that she had sex with Andrew. When I say that he had sex with her, consensual sex, that’s just what I had read in the press.”
Later emails in the exchange appear to show Epstein abandoning the subject and moving on to discuss currency.
On Tuesday, the former head of MI6 urged the relevant authorities to investigate Mountbatten-Windsor’s involvement with Epstein to its fullest extent.
Sir Alex Younger said MI6 had no involvement in monitoring Mountbatten-Windsor’s activities, as this had been the remit of its domestic counterpart MI5.
But reacting to an interview with survivors of Epstein’s crimes, broadcast on BBC Newsnight, Young, who served as the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service from 2014 to 2020, said: “That is utterly horrifying. It’s deeply affecting. I think we should pursue this until we have answers. Daylight is the best disinfectant.”
Asked by Victoria Derbyshire, the Newsnight presenter, on Tuesday whether MI5 would have been aware of “everybody Prince Andrew mixed with” as a trade envoy, Young said: “I don’t know. I was chief of MI6”, before adding that the matter had not crossed his desk.
Coming from one of the UK’s most senior intelligence officers, Young’s comments will add even more pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor to testify to the US Congress committee investigating the scandal.
The comments come at a time when the Epstein files may soon be published in full after a significant vote in Washington.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted almost unanimously to compel the US Justice Department to publish more files. The legislation must now pass through the Senate before it can be signed into law by Donald Trump.
Representatives of Mountbatten-Windsor have been contacted for comment.
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