Prince Edward becomes first royal to respond to release of the Epstein files

Britain's Prince Edward has called for people to "remember the victims" as he became the first royal to respond to the latest release of the Epstein files.

The brother of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who features in the files alongside his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, was asked about the Epstein files and how he was faring as he spoke at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on a panel entitled "Is Education Measured By Years Or Skills?"

"Well, with the best will in the world. I'm not sure this is the audience that is probably the least interested in that. They all came here to listen to education, solving the future, but no, I think it's all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this."

The comments from the third son of the late Queen Elizabeth comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the former Prince Andrew should testify before a US congressional committee, following new revelations about Andrew's links to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

New files related to Epstein published by the US Justice Department on Friday included emails that showed King Charles's brother maintaining regular contact with Epstein for more than two years after he was found guilty of child sex crimes.

The files also include pictures appearing to show Andrew crouching over and touching the waist of an unidentified woman lying on the floor. Her face was blacked out in the redacted images.

Separately, the BBC on Sunday quoted a US lawyer as saying a woman had alleged she was sent, while in her 20s, by Epstein to Britain for a sexual encounter with Andrew which took place in 2010 in a royal property on the estate of Windsor Castle.

The allegation represented the second claim of a woman being flown from the US to Britain to meet Andrew after Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein, said she was forced to have sex with him in London.

In 2022, Andrew made an undisclosed payment to settle a lawsuit brought in the US by Giuffre who died by suicide in April. Andrew, 65, has always denied Giuffre's account.