The Times - UK (2020-08-06)

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the times | Thursday August 6 2020 2GM 7


News


Diana’s bridesmaid took jet to Epstein’s private island


A British writer who was a bridesmaid
of Diana, Princess of Wales, has
acknowledged travelling to Jeffrey
Epstein’s island in the Caribbean and
said she was “horrified” to read
accounts of what took place there.
Clementine Hambro is listed on
flight logs from Epstein’s private jets,
which were among a trove of docu-
ments released by a court in New York.
The documents indicate that she
travelled to Epstein’s ranch in New
Mexico and to Little St James, his pri-
vate island in the Caribbean.
Ms Hambro, 44, a great-grand-
daughter of Sir Winston Churchill, told
the Daily Mail that she had travelled to
the ranch as a 23-year-old employee of
Christie’s auction house, to help him to


decide on artworks he might buy for the
place.
“The second trip, to Little St James,
was a personal invitation, which I
thought would be fun to accept, but I
didn’t know anyone there, didn’t enjoy
myself and never went back. My heart
breaks for all the survivors, now that I
know what happened on that island.”
She added that she had not witnessed
any abuse, nor had she seen “anything
untoward happen, with minors or oth-
erwise”. She told the paper: “I was clear-
ly very lucky, my heart goes out to those
who were abused by him, and I trust
they get the justice they so deserve. I
was young and naive, and could not
conceive of what was to unfold.”
It emerged yesterday that Epstein
was once a member of President
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club but was

thrown out for harassing the teenage
daughter of another member, a book
has claimed.
The financier was expelled from the
club in October 2007 as he was reach-
ing an agreement with prosecutors to

plead guilty to sex offences involving a
minor, according to The Grifter’s Club,
an account of Mr Trump’s Palm Beach
club by four investigative journalists.
Epstein was known to have visited
Mar-a-Lago and to have been friendly
with Mr Trump, who described him in
2002 as “a terrific guy” who “likes beau-
tiful women as much as I do, and many
of them are on the younger side”.
After Epstein was arrested in July last
year and charged with sex-trafficking
offences, Mr Trump said the two had
fallen out and had not spoken for 15
years. According to the book, published
yesterday, Epstein appeared on a mem-
bers list there until late 2007.
Sarah Blaskey, a reporter for the
Miami Herald, who is one of the book’s
authors, said a member had told them
that Mr Trump “kicked Epstein out

after Epstein harassed the daughter of a
member”. She told the Herald: “The way
this person described it, such an act
could irreparably harm the Trump
brand, leaving Donald no choice but to
remove Epstein.”
Epstein died last year in a Manhattan
jail while awaiting trial. His former girl-
friend, Ghislaine Maxwell, 58, was
arrested in New Hampshire last month
and charged with assisting him in
recruiting, “enticing” and “transport-
ing” minors between 1994 and 1997. She
faces two charges of perjury, relating to
testimony she gave in a civil suit
brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre,
who alleges that Maxwell recruited her
for Epstein while she was a minor. Ms
Giuffre says she was hired ostensibly as
a masseur while at Mar-a-Lago. Ms
Maxwell denies all the charges.

Will Pavia New York


Flack killed


herself in fear


of show trial,


coroner told


Fariha Karim Police who investigated the alleged
assault challenged the advice. Prosecu-
tors then decided to press ahead with
the case, Lisa Ramsarran, a deputy
chief prosecutor, told the inquest.
Flack was found hanged on February
15, a day after being told by her lawyers
that the CPS would proceed with the
trial. Her flat was entered by her sister
and Stephen Teasdale, the father of her
friend. A toxicology report said that she
had a small amount of anti-insomnia
and anti-anxiety medication in her
system but little above the prescribed
dosage. A note said: “I hope me and
Lewis can one day find harmony.”
Friends described how a series of
events had made Flack anxious. Her
mother, Christine Flack, said that it had
“killed [Flack]” to learn that Burton
sent pictures of the bloodied scene of
the alleged attack to an ex-girlfriend.
The pictures appeared in the press.
Her sister, Jody, said that the present-
er tried to kill herself in December,
before her first appearance in court for
assault, in one of at least three attempts.
“I believe the shame... was too much
to deal with,” Ms Flack said. “Her life
and reputation she worked hard to
build was falling apart... because of a
false accusation.”
Her mother added: “I believe Caro-
line was seriously let down by the
authorities and in particular the CPS
for pursuing the case. I believe this was
a show trial. Being well known should
not allow special treatment but should
not allow making an example of some-
one. She lost the job she worked so hard
at... I believe she was heartbroken.
“I know nothing will bring her back,
but I do want people to know what a
lovely, kind, generous person she was.”
The inquest was told that Flack tried
to kill herself the night before her death
by taking an overdose. Her friend,
Louise Teasdale, said Flack sent a mes-
sage saying that she was going to kill
herself. She arrived to find Flack had
smashed her television set. She and


Mollie Grosberg, another friend, called
paramedics.
Tony Rumore, a paramedic, said that
Flack refused to go to hospital, fearing
further publicity. Ms Grosberg criti-
cised Mr Rumore for advising her to
stay with Flack. She said: “The respon-
sibility of a medical professional is to
look after a person, not to ask her
friends to babysit her.”
A statement from Lewis Burton was

The TV presenter Caroline Flack tried
repeatedly to take her life before a
“show trial” that prosecutors initially
intended not to pursue, an inquest was
told yesterday.
Flack, 40, attempted suicide three
times after being charged with assault-
ing her boyfriend, Poplar coroner’s
court was told.
The former host of Love Island and
The X Factor died on a fourth attempt
on February 15, a day after learning that
prosecutors had decided to pursue the
case against her. Flack’s twin sister,
Jody, discovered her body and tried to
save her through CPR.
At the time of Flack’s death, her boy-
friend, Lewis Burton, a tennis player


and model, had wanted the charges to
be withdrawn. He had previously called
police to complain that Flack left him
fearing for his life after she hit him
while he was asleep.
Yesterday it emerged that the prose-
cutor who received the complaint said
that Flack should be cautioned rather
than prosecuted because the case had
not met the public interest threshold.
The detective from the Metropolitan


read out. He said: “She would some-
times talk about taking her own life...
what was bothering her most was the
police case and losing her presenting
job and not being able to see me.”
The inquest, being heard by Mary
Hassell, the senior coroner for inner
north London, continues.
The Samaritans are available 365 days
a year by calling 116 123 free of charge
or emailing [email protected]

Lifeboatman’s


daughter to


lose home in


RNLI battle


A woman whose father changed his will
weeks before committing suicide is set
to lose the home she won in her divorce
after a court ruled that the RNLI was
the intended recipient of her father’s in-
heritance.
Sonya Young was ordered to pay
more than £140,000 to the lifeboat
charity in legal fees and overdue pay-
ments that she had earlier denied
having access to, despite winning the
whole home from her ex-husband.
Brian Cole, her father, a former life-
boatman, killed himself aged 70 in
August 2013 just 25 days after he exe-
cuted a will that gave his daughter and
his former partner £5,000 each, leaving
about £268,000 to fund the lifeboat in
Penarth, south Wales, that he had once
manned.
Last year Mrs Young fought the RNLI
in an attempt to prove that Mr Cole had
not been in his right mind when he
made the will.
The High Court was told that Mr
Cole’s first will, made in 2008, had
named Mrs Young as his sole heir. He
changed it in 2012 to largely disinherit
her in favour of his girlfriend at the time,
before changing it again the next year.
Last July, Judge Paul Teverson ruled
in favour of the charity, saying that Mr
Cole had known what he was doing. He
had made a conscious decision to “dis-
inherit” his daughter after a bad falling-
out, the judge said.
Mr Cole told the lawyer who pre-
pared his last will that he had been a
crew member of the Penarth life boat
“many years ago” and wanted the RNLI
to get most of his wealth.
Daniel Burton, the RNLI’s barrister,
told the court that there was a troubled
history between father and daughter,
and that there had been a “fundamen-
tal disagreement” between them.
“The evidence is clear that his inten-
tion was to disinherit his daughter and
he had already done that pursuant to
his previous will,” he added.
Mrs Young went on to pay £214,
of her father’s money to the RNLI, but
had already spent about £54,000 while
it was in her hands, the court was told.
At the charity’s request, this week
Judge Timothy Bowles imposed charg-
ing orders totalling over £140,000, to
make up the shortfall plus the charity’s
legal fees, on the house she won in her
divorce in March, paving the way for
the property to be sold to pay off what
she owes to the RNLI.

Caroline Flack with her twin sister, Jody, who tried in vain to resuscitate her. She
had appeared at Highbury Corner magistrates’ court, left, and denied assault

PLAA/ZDS/WENN

Clementine Hambro helped Jeffrey
Epstein to decide on art he might buy
Free download pdf