Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should consider testifying before the US Congress regarding his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“In terms of testifying, I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information,” Starmer told reporters. “You can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority.”
The comments follow the latest release of files related to Epstein by the US Department of Justice, which includes over three million pages of documents and thousands of images. Some of the released material shows Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew and the Duke of York, kneeling over a woman in Epstein’s New York mansion. BBC Verify confirmed that the interiors in the images match the decor of Epstein’s townhouse. No context is provided for the photos, and Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Democrats in the US Congress had requested Mountbatten-Windsor to provide testimony last November as part of their investigation into Epstein. At the time, Starmer said the decision was a personal matter for Mountbatten-Windsor.
The newly released documents also include emails from August 2010, showing Epstein inviting Mountbatten-Windsor to meet a 26-year-old woman in London. The Duke responded that he would be in Geneva until the 22nd but was willing to meet her, asking for additional details. These emails were exchanged two years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor and do not indicate any wrongdoing by Mountbatten-Windsor.
The files provide further insight into Epstein’s financial assistance to others in Mountbatten-Windsor’s circle. Emails show that Epstein helped Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife and the former Duchess of York, financially over a 15-year period. In 2009, Ferguson requested £20,000 for rent and described Epstein as “the brother I have always wished for” after meetings regarding business proposals. Other documents show Epstein requesting that Ferguson release a statement defending him from allegations, which he said were “falsehoods” spread by civil plaintiffs.
The DOJ release also highlights financial transactions involving Lord Peter Mandelson’s partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, who received £10,000 from Epstein in 2009 for an osteopathy course. Starmer said Mandelson was removed as UK ambassador to the US following further information that came to light in 2025.
The latest DOJ release includes more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, many heavily redacted. Democratic members of the US House Judiciary Committee have requested access to the full files ahead of a planned public hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Being named or depicted in the files does not imply any criminal wrongdoing, and many of those mentioned, including Mountbatten-Windsor, continue to deny any misconduct related to Epstein.
