Richard Branson said he would “love” to see Jeffrey Epstein again “as long as you bring your harem” and gave him PR advice on his conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, according to the latest tranche of files released by the US justice department.
What appear to be emails between Branson and Epstein were among 3m files that include new evidence of his close relationship with Peter Mandelson, an invitation from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to a private dinner at Buckingham Palace and praise from Sarah Ferguson – all after the late financier’s first conviction for child sex offending.
Speaking after the release of the files, Keir Starmer said Mountbatten-Windsor “should be prepared” to testify before the US Congress about his links to Epstein. When asked by journalists whether Mountbatten-Windsor should apologise to Epstein’s victims, Starmer said it was “a matter for Andrew” .
In an email exchange after Epstein visited Branson’s Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in September 2013, Branson wrote: “Any time you’re in the area would love to see you. As long as you bring your harem!”
Branson’s team said that Epstein had referred to three adult women who travelled to the island with him as his “harem” and he would never have used this term had the full facts of Epstein’s offending been known at the time. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Branson.
Epstein escaped federal charges that could have landed him a life sentence when he took a deal in Miami in 2008 that saw him serve an 18-month prison sentence for a single charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Earlier in the email chain, Epstein requested Branson’s “public relations thoughts”. The Virgin mogul responded: “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 ½-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.”
A Virgin Group spokesperson said that any contact with Epstein and Branson “took place on only a few occasions more than 12 years ago, and was limited to group or business settings, such as a charity tennis event”.
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The spokesperson added that due diligence carried out after Epstein offered a charity donation to Virgin Unite revealed serious allegations, the donation was turned down and contact was cut. “Richard believes Epstein’s actions were abhorrent and supports the right to justice for his many victims,” the statement added.
The latest files also appear to further illustrate the depth of the close relationship between Epstein and Mandelson. In one email in 2011, he gave Epstein a glowing reference in an introduction to a Congolese government official, saying the convicted child sex trafficker “knows more about finance than anyone I know, is a good friend and totally trustworthy”, adding: “You can be open with him.” While he was visiting Epstein in 2011, according to the documents, a dinner was scheduled with Gates. The next day Mandelson had lunch with Epstein and Matthew Menchel, the chief criminal prosecutor for Miami who was instrumental in the plea deal in 2008.
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Last Friday Mandelson said: “I was wrong to believe Epstein following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards.”
In 2009, Ferguson, the former wife of Mountbatten-Windsor, appears to have sent Epstein an email thanking him for being “the brother I have always wished for”.
She wrote that she had “never been more touched by a friend’s kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls”.
In an email exchange the next year, Mountbatten-Windsor invited Epstein to meet him at Buckingham Palace. In another exchange the same year, Epstein offered to arrange a dinner with a “beautiful” and “trustworthy” 26-year-old Russian woman.
A spokesperson for Ferguson previously said she was taken in by his lies. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Branson or Mandelson.