UK Charities Cut Ties to Sarah Ferguson Over Epstein Email

The email referred to a 2011 interview with the Evening Standard newspaper in which she apologized for accepting 15,000 pounds from Epstein.

“I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say,’’ Ferguson said in the interview. “Whenever I can, I will repay the money and have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”

The story comes less than a month after Andrew himself was criticized for staying in touch with Epstein for five years longer than previously claimed.

Leaked email correspondence between Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak indicated that the prince had been in touch with Epstein as late as 2015, the Times of London reported. Andrew told the BBC in 2019 that he ceased all contact with Epstein in December 2010, after the late financier pled guilty to sex crimes in Florida.

Andrew and his ex-wife have faced a series of scandals amid concerns that the prince has tried to profit from his royal status.

He was forced to give up all royal duties and charity roles after the 2019 interview with the BBC in which he was criticized for trying to minimize his connections with Epstein and failing to show sympathy for his victims. Last year, it emerged that a suspected Chinese spy had developed close links with Andrew, raising concerns about efforts to put undue influence on other members of the royal family.