Andrew should testify before the US Congress as ‘victims deserve and need’ anyone who may have ‘witnessed things to do that’, minister says
We can bring you more from the interview with housing secretary Steve Reed on Sky News’ Trevor Phillips programme this morning (see this post for what Reed said about Peter Mandelson in the same interview).
When asked if the British government would comply with an extradition request from the US if there was a charge brought against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Reed said he could not answer that question as it was an “entirely hypothetical” one.
“I don’t think it’s sensible for me to come on here and start talking hypothetically about situations that may or may not exist,” Reed said.
“The principle here is very, very clear. If Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor … Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor clearly has insight into what was going on and he should testify because the victims deserve and need him and anybody else who may have witnessed things to do that.”
The housing secretary said people have a “moral obligation to share what they knew” to help bring justice to victims. Reed said he is unsure if the government could compel the former prince to give evidence to the US Congress.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing relating to his relationship with Epstein.
Key events
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Richard Branson told Epstein ‘bring your harem’ and gave him PR advice, emails suggest
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Brett Ratner, director of Melania Trump film, pictured with Epstein
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Metropolitan police urged to reopen Andrew investigation by lawyer
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Second woman alleges Epstein sent her to UK to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
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Jeffrey Epstein sent accounts linked to Peter Mandelson $75,000, documents appear to show
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‘This is the end,’ Trevor Phillips says to his ‘friend’ Peter Mandelson in direct video address
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Andrew should testify before the US Congress as ‘victims deserve and need’ anyone who may have ‘witnessed things to do that’, minister says
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Trump responds to release of latest Epstein files, saying documents ‘absolve’ him
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Andrew and Mandelson should ‘give all the assistance they possibly can’ to authorities investigating Epstein, shadow home secretary says
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Mandelson should clear up whether a ‘lack of disclosure’ remains over his links with Epstein, minister says
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Minister calls latest image of Andrew ‘very disturbing’ and urges him to testify
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Labour party chair accuses Zack Polanski of being ‘cowardly’ for not fighting Gorton and Denton byelection
Richard Branson told Epstein ‘bring your harem’ and gave him PR advice, emails suggest
Also in the newly-released files, British billionaire Richard Branson told Jeffrey Epstein that he would love to see him again “as long as your bring your harem”.
In an email exchange from September 2013, Epstein also asked for Branson’s “thoughts” on a “public relations” matter, apparently after a visit to him the previous day.
A reminder that being mentioned in the documents is not an indication of wrongdoing.
In an email on 11 September 2013, Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, wrote to Epstein, “It was really nice seeing you yesterday.” He added:
Any time you’re in the area would love to see you. As long as you bring your harem!
A representative for Virgin group told the New York Times that Branson had sent the email shortly after hosting Epstein at a group business meeting on the private island Branson owns in the British Virgin Islands. Epstein arrived at the meeting with three adult women, whom he referred to as his “harem”, who did not attend the meeting, the representative said in a statement. It goes on:
Any contact Richard and Joan Branson had with Epstein took place on only a few occasions more than 12 years ago, and was limited to group or business settings. Richard believes that Epstein’s actions were abhorrent and supports the right to justice for his many victims.
Back to the email exchange, Branson then turned to the public relations matter, advising Epstein:
I think if Bill Gates was willing to say that you’ve been a brilliant advisor to him, that you slipped up many years ago by sleeping with a 17 1/2 year old woman and were punished for it, that you’ve more than learnt your lesson and have done nothing that’s 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. Anyway something along those lines.
Epstein is said, by Branson’s team, to have mentioned that he had served time in prison for a consensual relationship with someone who was nearly 18, and asked for Branson’s public relations advice on the matter, according to Sky News.
In a statement to the outlet, a Virgin Group spokesperson said that “had [Branson] had the full picture and information, there would have been no contact whatsoever [with Epstein].”
Brett Ratner, director of Melania Trump film, pictured with Epstein
The director of Melania Trump’s new Amazon film, Brett Ratner, appears in multiple pictures with Jeffrey Epstein in images released by the US Department of Justice on Friday.
One picture shows Ratner sitting on a couch with his arms wrapped around a woman whose face is redacted. Next to that woman is Epstein, and another woman, whose face is also obscured (you can see the picture – DSCO1 41 6.JPG – in this collection of images).
It is not known where or when the photos were taken, or who took them. Appearing in the photos is not an indication of any wrongdoing.
“Melania,” a documentary made in partnership with the US first lady, is the first film directed by Ratner, who also directed the Rush Hour films and X-Men: The Last Stand, in over a decade. In 2017, six women said Ratner sexually harassed them, in a Los Angeles Times report. Warner Bros, which had a $450m co-financing deal with his production company, severed ties with Ratner, who denied the allegations.
Another image released by the DoJ appears to include the French modeling agent and friend of Epstein, Jean-Luc Brunel, who is sitting on a sofa with another woman, whose face has been redacted.
Authorities arrested Brunel in December 2020 at Charles de Gaulle airport on suspicion of crimes including alleged rape and sexual assault of minors and human trafficking of underage girls for sexual exploitation. Brunel, who was suspected of providing teenage girls to Epstein, was found dead in prison in February 2022 of an apparent suicide.
You can find a summary of the main revelations found in the latest Epstein file release in this useful explainer:
Metropolitan police urged to reopen Andrew investigation by lawyer
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Gloria Allred, a lawyer who has represented many of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, said:
The Metropolitan Police should reopen their investigation of Andrew. In addition, Andrew should volunteer to speak to Congress, even though he has denied that he has committed any crime.
He should do this to help the survivors learn what he observed.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles by King Charles last year after the posthumous release of a book by Virginia Giuffre who alleged she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17.
Mountbatten-Windsor paid millions to Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022. He made no admission of liability and has denied any wrongdoing.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed in December that the force would “take no further action” over claims Mountbatten-Windsor asked his police protection officer for information on Giuffre.
Second woman alleges Epstein sent her to UK to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Caroline Davies
A second woman has alleged that Jeffrey Epstein sent her to the UK to have a sexual encounter with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, according to her lawyer.
The woman has claimed she spent the night at the former prince’s residence Royal Lodge in 2010, her US lawyer, Brad Edwards, told the BBC. The woman, who is not British, was in her 20s at the time, it was reported.
Edwards, from the Florida-based law firm Edwards Henderson, said that after spending the night with Mountbatten-Windsor, the woman claims, she was given a tour of Buckingham Palace and tea.
“We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew. And she even had, after a night with Prince Andrew, a tour of Buckingham Palace,” Edwards told the broadcaster.
It is the first time an Epstein accuser has alleged a sexual encounter at a royal residence, Royal Lodge.
BBC News said it had received no response to a request for comment from Mountbatten-Windsor on the claim, and that although Buckingham Palace routinely records the names of tour guests, it had not been possible to corroborate the woman’s visit without revealing her identity …
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied Giuffre’s claims and any wrongdoing related to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019. You can read the full story here:
There is another email from Sarah Ferguson in the latest tranche of Epstein files.
In it, she reveals to a recipient, referred to as ‘A’, that she was introduced to US lawyer and businessman David Stern by Jeffrey Epstein, and that Stern had come to the Royal Lodge in Windsor for dinner.
The email address of ‘A’ is redacted. Sarah signs off her own name as ‘S’.
Epstein is cc’d on the email, which is dated 6th February 2010. Stern also appears to have been cc’d, although his address is redacted.
The email was sent a few months before the former duchess appears to have sent the backruptcy settlement agreement to Stern (see 13.44 below).
The email states:
“A.
I was introduced to David Stern by Jeffrey. He came to Royal lodge for dinner. He has been helping me a great deal with an ear and advice to my way ahead. He has a great rolodex for China. And infact [sic] his company is called Asia Gateway. Anyway, David has offered his help to assist in the wealth Fund [sic] idea with China.
Jeffrey rates David Stern highly, but if you think it is a good idea, then maybe you could check with Jeffrey and then, get in touch with David directly. David is very correct, and would not dream to get in touch with you until you invite him to.
S.”
It is unclear who ‘A’ is.
Being mentioned in these documents is not a sign of wrongdoing.
One of the emails from the latest tranche of Epstein files appears to relate to a settlement agreement for Hartmoor, a US company founded by Sarah Ferguson in 2006, Sky News has reported.
The company was set up to deal with Ferguson’s media, publishing and licensing work. It folded in 2009 with debts of £650,000.
According to Sky News, on 6 October 2009, details of the settlement agreement were forwarded to the US lawyer and businessman David Stern in an attachment.
The email appears to have been sent by the office of the former Duchess, apparently at Ferguson’s request.
Stern then sent the email to Epstein and stated: “Attached the settlement – if possible we need a review from a US lawyer re the IP situation following a bankruptcy.”
‘IP’ may stand for ‘intellectual property’.
It is not clear what was in the attachment or what the details of the settlement were and it is not known why the attachment was sent to Stern.
It also unclear exactly why Stern, who died in 2020, forwarded the email to Epstein.
Both Stern’s email address and the email address of the person who apparently sent the email from Sarah Ferguson’s office have been redacted.
Being mentioned in these documents is not a sign of wrongdoing.
Jeffrey Epstein sent accounts linked to Peter Mandelson $75,000, documents appear to show
According to newly released bank statements by the US Department of Justice, Jeffrey Epstein appears to have sent $75,000 (£54,500) in three instalments between 2003 and 2004 to accounts connected to Peter Mandelson, when he was Labour MP for Hartlepool.
The files record three separate payments from Epstein’s JPMorgan accounts of $25,000 each, all referencing Mandelson, as first reported by the Financial Times.
The first payment, dated 14 May 2003, was sent to a Barclays account held by Mandelson’s partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva (the couple married in 2023 after 27 years together).
Mandelson was listed as “BEN” – a typical stand in for beneficiary – of the funds, while Da Silva was named as “A/C” – a common abbreviation for account.
The second and third payments were made to HSBC accounts a few days apart in June 2004, labelled only with Mandelson’s name, again next to “BEN”.
A spokesperson for Mandelson told the FT that he had no record or memory of receiving the payments, and was unsure if the released documents were even authentic. There are no references to any donations or loans sent from Epstein to Mandelson in the House of Commons register of interests over the period in question.
‘This is the end,’ Trevor Phillips says to his ‘friend’ Peter Mandelson in direct video address
At the beginning of his programme, Trevor Phillips delivered a dramatic message straight to camera to Peter Mandelson, his friend for 50 years, who he worked extensively together with over their careers, including as politicians.
Despite Mandelson being sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington when details of his support for Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and late sex offender, emerged in September, Phillips said he remains friends with Mandelson, an architect of Tony Blair’s New Labour project in the 1990s.
Philip’s monologue was filmed after the latest ‘Epstein files’ release showed Epstein sending £10,000 ($13,692) to Mandelson’s partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva in 2009. Addressing Mandelson directly, Phillips said:
It’s a friend’s privilege to tell you that you are ill-suited to a role, even that you are a complete idiot …
I have not spoken personally to Lord Mandelson about the release this weekend of documents, messages, photographs and videos related to the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
He was invited to join us this morning but declined … . However, he has told this porgramme that neither he or his husband have any records or recollection of receiving payments of 2003 or 2004 or knows whether the documentation is authentic.
He does accept that Reinaldo received a loan of $10,000 from Epstein whilst he, Mandelson, was a senior cabinet minister, and he acknowledges that in the same period, Epstein was amongst those who lobbied him on important policy matters.
There’s no suggestion that Lord Mandelson has done anything unlawful. But I would claim the friend’s privilege to tell Peter that he has been, at best naive and foolish, at worst greedy and duplicitous.
Whatever is true as far as politics and public office are concerned, for Peter Mandelson, this is the end.
The question now is whether the price of his misjudgement is to be paid only by the man himself, or whether those who trusted him and elevated him to the peerage, and to one of the highest diplomatic posts available, should also share in his ignominy.
“I would claim the friend’s privilege to tell Peter that he has been, at best, naïve and foolish, at worst, greedy and duplicitous.”
@TrevorPTweets reflects on his friendship with Lord Mandelson amid controversy over the former ambassador’s association with Epstein. pic.twitter.com/Kt9vpVbd2y— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 1, 2026
Andrew should testify before the US Congress as ‘victims deserve and need’ anyone who may have ‘witnessed things to do that’, minister says
We can bring you more from the interview with housing secretary Steve Reed on Sky News’ Trevor Phillips programme this morning (see this post for what Reed said about Peter Mandelson in the same interview).
When asked if the British government would comply with an extradition request from the US if there was a charge brought against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Reed said he could not answer that question as it was an “entirely hypothetical” one.
“I don’t think it’s sensible for me to come on here and start talking hypothetically about situations that may or may not exist,” Reed said.
“The principle here is very, very clear. If Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor … Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor clearly has insight into what was going on and he should testify because the victims deserve and need him and anybody else who may have witnessed things to do that.”
The housing secretary said people have a “moral obligation to share what they knew” to help bring justice to victims. Reed said he is unsure if the government could compel the former prince to give evidence to the US Congress.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing relating to his relationship with Epstein.
Trump responds to release of latest Epstein files, saying documents ‘absolve’ him
As we made reference to earlier in the blog, over three million pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein were released on Friday by the department of justice, six weeks after a deadline mandated in a law signed by the US president, Donald Trump, who has been dogged politically by the release of the files.
Trump, who has admitted having a friendship with Epstein, is mentioned hundreds of times in the documents.
Among them is a list compiled by the FBI last year of claims made against the US president by callers to its national Threat Operation Center tip line. Many appear to be unsubstantiated allegations of sexual abuse relating to Trump, Epstein and other public figures.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s sexual abuse and has said their friendship soured many years ago.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One overnight, Trump said the documents had cleared him of allegations about his connections with Epstein.
“I didn’t see it myself but I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it’s the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical left,” he said. The Trump administration has faced intense scrutiny over the pacing of the files’ release and the heavy redactions within the published documents.
Nick Robins-Early
Elon Musk had more extensive – and more friendly – communications with the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein than previously publicly known, according to documents released on Friday by the Department of Justice. Emails in the files appear to show the two cordially messaging each other on two separate occasions to make plans for Musk to visit Epstein’s island.
The documents include Musk and Epstein emailing in both 2012 and 2013 to determine when Musk should make the trip to Little St James. Neither exchanges appear to have resulted in Musk visiting the island, due to logistical issues.
“Will be in the BVI/St Bart’s area over the holidays. Is there a good time to visit?” Musk states on 13 December 2013.
“any day 1st – 8th . play it by ear if you want. always space for you,” Epstein replies.
Musk then sends several emails relaying his schedule, and the two settle on 2 January as a date for the visit. The email exchange ends with Epstein telling Musk that he would need to remain in New York and sending his regrets that they could not meet. You can read more here:
Emine Sinmaz
Emine Sinmaz is a senior reporter at the Guardian
Jeffrey Epstein sent thousands of pounds in bank transfers after his release from prison in 2009 to Peter Mandelson’s husband, according to emails published by the US Department of Justice on Friday.
The latest documents raise fresh questions about Epstein’s relationship with Mandelson, who was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington when details of his support for the disgraced financier emerged in September.
The latest dataset published on Friday shows that Mandelson’s husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, emailed Epstein on 7 September 2009, about two months after Epstein was released from prison. Epstein had served 13 months of an 18-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender. Mandelson was business secretary at the time and in a relationship with da Silva. The pair married in 2023 after 27 years together.
Da Silva asked Epstein to fund an osteopathy course and other expenses, saying: “I sent you a couple of emails last week regarding my osteo course expenses, incl fee, anatomical models, laptop if you can help me with this. I hope you received them.
“I just managed to speak to the fees office at the osteo school and confirmed that my annual fee is of £3,225 … They accept bank transfer and the details are as follows.” Epstein responded later that day and said: “I will wire your loan amount immediated’y [sic].”
You can read the full story here:
Andrew and Mandelson should ‘give all the assistance they possibly can’ to authorities investigating Epstein, shadow home secretary says
The Conservative party has said Andrew Windsor-Mountbatten and Peter Mandelson should “give all the assistance they possibly can” to authorities investigating Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaking to Sky News, the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, said this morning:
It’s pretty horrifying to see just how extensive Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious activities extended. Horrifying to see how many people were involved embroiled in his network.
I certainly agree that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should give all the assistance he possibly can to any official body investigating this, whether it’s the police, the FBI or indeed the US Congress.
The same of course, would apply to Peter Mandelson, who appears to be embroiled in this as well.
Democrat members of the US House Oversight Committee wrote to Windsor-Mountbatten in November asking the former prince to be questioned as part of the probe into Epstein.
The committee said at the time it would seek information about Epstein and his network “based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship”. The committee reportedly gave Windsor-Mountbatten a deadline of 20 November to respond, something Democrats said he failed to do.
The Democrats are unlikely to be able to compel him to speak to them without the support of the Republicans, who chair the committee and are in the majority.
Mandelson should clear up whether a ‘lack of disclosure’ remains over his links with Epstein, minister says
In his interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssbergg this morning, Steve Reed also suggested that Mandelson needs to clear up whether a “lack of disclosure” remains over his links with Epstein.
When asked whether he believed that Mandelson had told the entire truth about his connections to Epstein, the housing secretary replied: “Well, the reason he was removed as ambassador to the US is because there were things he had not disclosed. Now I don’t know how far that lack of disclosure goes. I think he should answer questions about his own life, not me.”
The latest files released by the department of justice also showed former ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, was paid $50,000 by Jeffrey Epstein in two payments in June 2004, when he was a Labour MP.
As a reminder, Mandelson was sacked in September over leaked emails in which he expressed his support for Epstein and urged him to “fight for early release” in 2008 while the disgraced financier was facing charges of soliciting sex from minors.
In 2019, Epstein died in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Speaking to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips programme this morning, the housing secretary, Steve Reed, was asked if Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage because of his association with Epstein. He said:
I think before taking any action like that, we need to understand exactly what’s happened. You’re asking me here about something that happened nearly 20 years ago. I don’t know the full detail of it, I wasn’t in government 20 years ago.
I don’t know whether he declared it or not, and he should have done – the declaration rules had been brought in by then – so I think it would be for Peter Mandelson to explain whether or not that money was properly declared, and if not, then he will need to account for that.
But I don’t want to jump the gun and make assumptions. I think we need to find out exactly what happened first.
Steve Reed’s comments come after the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said Andrew Mounbatten-Windsor should testify before the US Congress about his links to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mounbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his titles last year amid the fallout from his friendship with the billionaire, features heavily in the latest tranche of Epstein files, released on Friday by the US justice department.
Speaking after the release of the latest Epstein files, Starmer said: “Firstly, I have always approached this question with the victims of Epstein in mind. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority. As for whether there should be an apology, that’s a matter for Andrew.
“But yes, in terms of testifying, I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that. You can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that.”
As my colleagues note in this story, the documents suggest that, a month before the Buckingham Palace invitation, Epstein had suggested he could arrange for Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a “clever, beautiful and trustworthy” Russian woman, who was 26. Mountbatten-Windsor apparently responded that he would be “delighted” to see the woman. He also asked Epstein if it was “good to be free” from house arrest.
Minister calls latest image of Andrew ‘very disturbing’ and urges him to testify
The housing secretary, Steve Reed, is speaking to the BBC, a day after the latest tranche of releases from the US Department of Justice in relation to Jeffrey Epstein showed an image of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor clothed, on all fours, over a female lying supine on the floor.
Asked what he thought when he saw the photograph of Andrew, Reed said:
“What would anyone think … it is a very disturbing image and very worrying allegations, and as the prime minister said all of our thoughts need to be with those women who were the victims of what Epstein and his associates were doing.
“And the way that we can help those victims is for anybody who has any insight or information about what went on to come forward and testify. We need to shine a light on what has happened.”
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied all wrongdoing in relation to his dealings with Epstein. The former prince had a long friendship with Epstein and is alleged to have sexually assaulted one of his victims, Virginia Giuffre – allegations he denies.
Labour party chair accuses Zack Polanski of being ‘cowardly’ for not fighting Gorton and Denton byelection
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. The Labour party has accused the Green party leader Zack Polanski of being cowardly for not standing in the Gorton and Denton byelection on 26 February.
In an interview with The Observer, the Labour party’s chair, Anna Turley, said the fact Salford-born Polanski did not stand showed the Greens lacked “confidence” to do so.
“It sends a strong message that they think they are in third place … That is the reality – a Green vote is a wasted vote,” she said. A spokesperson for Polanski said he was waiting for the byelection in Holborn and St Pancras.
Labour is vying with the Green party to attract progressive votes to beat Reform in a byelection being framed by Nigel Farage’s party as a referendum on Keir Starmer’s leadership.
It was triggered by the resignation of the former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne because of ill health.
The Greens came third in the Gorton and Denton seat at the 2024 general election, just behind Reform UK.
Although Labour won the seat with a majority of 13,000, the party has massively slid in the polls since and will face fierce competition from the opposition parties likely to make gains due to huge voter disenchantment with the government.
The Green party has selected Hannah Spencer, a Trafford councillor and plumber by trade, to run in the byelection, while Labour has selected Angeliki Stogia, a Manchester city councillor, and Reform picked Matthew Goodwin, a former academic who is now a GB News presenter and hard-right activist.
Polanski will be interviewed on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg politics programme shortly. Stick with us as we bring you the latest lines.
