SUNDAY 25 AUGUST 2019Home news in brief
The Duke of York (left) has attempted to distance himself from the financier (Getty)
Prince Andrew: Visiting Epstein was a mistake
The Duke of York has said it was “a mistake and an error” to spend time with the paedophile financier
Jeffrey Epstein after his release from prison. Prince Andrew was pictured with his former friend in 2010
after Epstein had served an 18-month sentence for prostituting minors.
In a statement, the duke insisted that he had no suspicion about Epstein’s behaviour, and he expressed
sympathy for the financier’s victims. Epstein’s apparent suicide in a New York jail cell, where he was facing
charges of child sex trafficking, has again put the spotlight on the rich and powerful friends he surrounded
himself with, including Prince Andrew, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
In his statement the duke said: “I met Mr Epstein in 1999. During the time I knew him, I saw him
infrequently and probably no more than only once or twice a year. I have stayed in a number of his
residences ... At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any