Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Princess Beatrice was a witness to a phone call in which her mother, the former Duchess of York, defended the honour of convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The revelations, unearthed in the latest batch of the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice, stem from emails between Sarah Ferguson, Epstein and her then-spokesperson James Henderson in 2011.
The previous year, the former duchess had come under fire for accepting money from Epstein. In 2011, she commissioned an exclusive interview in the Evening Standard with Geordie Greig, who was the publication’s editor at the time, in a bid to clear her name.
“I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me,” she said at the time.
But Epstein was reportedly unhappy with the way he was described in the article, and Ferguson reached out to Mr Henderson in an attempt to make amends.
Under the heading “totally private and confidential”, Ferguson introduced the two and requested Henderson supply Epstein with a copy of the transcript from the Evening Standard interview.
“Jeffrey would like a copy of the transcript from Geordie Greig. He would also like to discuss with you the exact details on what happened that caused me to make a statement. Thankfully you were on the line witnessing the call,” she said.
Ferguson went on to say that after she finished the phone interview with Greig, she discussed it with her daughter Beatrice.
“We agreed it was important to call Geordie back and make sure he understood the severity of NOT making a mistake and getting it wrong about Jeffrey, because he was sent to prison for sexual offending, but that he had done his penance (sic) and was out of jail and moving on with his life,” she wrote.
“And Geordie was NOT in anyway to go down the P. route. I duly did the call, and Lee Ashley Johnson was also witness to that call aswell as Beatrice.”
The “P. route” appears to refer to the use of the word “paedophile” to describe Epstein.
She asked Henderson to call Epstein to help smooth over the child sex offender’s upset, and maintained she did not call Epstein a paedophile in her interview.
“Although I had to protect my own brand in the statement I did with Geordie, which is all in children work, I certainly would not want to hurt Jeffrey anymore, by saying such an untruth,” she wrote.
“I would like to find a way, that the newspapers in the USA, and all over the world, that say I said something which I did not, about Jeffrey, could be asked to apologise for misrepresenting Jeffrey and myself.”
The former duchess, who was married to former Prince Andrew, has come under increasing criticism for her friendship with Epstein.
Recently released Epstein files show that Ms Ferguson was still in contact with the sex offender after he was released from prison.
Just five days after his release, Ms Ferguson went to lunch with Epstein and brought her two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with her.
In 2009, she called Epstein her “brother”.
“Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.”
Following the disclosure, it was announced that Ms Ferguson’s charity, Sarah’s Trust, would close.
“Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future,” a spokesman said.
“This has been under discussion and in train for some months.
“We remain extremely proud of the work of the trust over recent years.”
