Jeffrey Epstein led two different lives – sex offender and celebrity networker – and he did that in the UK as well as the US.

The newly released Epstein documents reveal, in particular, how the paedophile financier ascended into the highest levels of British society.

This photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sprawled across the lap of several women, whose identities have been protected, speaks to his close relationship with Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed for child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with Epstein. But the furnishings are even more revealing.

Epstein files – latest updates

Sky News matched the fireplace in this photo with the one in Sandringham, the estate where the royals tend to spend Christmas – (Andrew is not invited this year).

Andrew has vigorously denied any accusations against him.

Also included in the latest release are Epstein’s flight records. They provide some useful corroborating evidence.

On 9 March 2001, his plane landed at “EGGW” – Luton Airport – with JE, GM and VR on board – Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Roberts, better known by her married name of Virginia Giuffre and perhaps Epstein’s most famous accuser.

The next day is when this photo was alleged to have been taken, in London, of Giuffre and Andrew.

Other photos show Maxwell on the steps of Downing Street – and power was as much a draw as celebrity.

On 15 May 2002, the flight records show Epstein again arriving at Luton.

The next day is when he met Tony Blair, prime minister at the time. This was before Epstein’s first arrest and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.

Read more:
New photos of Jeffrey Epstein’s circle released
Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case material to be released

The meeting was arranged by Peter Mandelson, who lost his job as ambassador to the US because of his Epstein connections, and who features prominently in the files.

The UK was a draw for Epstein’s wider circle too – Maxwell here is pictured touring the Churchill War Rooms with Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey. Neither are accused of wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

And the other grim life that Epstein led, of sex trafficking, also had British links.

Another document released in the files, from 2019, shows witness testimony from Maxwell’s trial. In it, a victim is mentioned who is “17 years old” and who grew up “in England”. She would later be taken to Epstein’s private Caribbean island.

The US has launched strikes to “eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” in Syria, according to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

A U.S. official described it as “a large-scale” strike that hit 70 targets in areas across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

“This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people,” he said in a social media post.

The announcement came after three US citizens – two National Guard members and a civilian interpreter – were killed in an attack in the Syrian desert on 13 December. Three US personnel were also wounded, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson said on X.

US President Donald Trump blamed the killings on Islamic State fighters.

“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria, whose beautiful souls I welcomed home to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“We are striking very strongly against ISIS strongholds in Syria, a place soaked in blood which has many problems, but one that has a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated.”

He said the Syrian government was fully supportive of the US strikes against the Islamic State, warning that fighters “will be hit harder than you have ever been hit before”.

A US official told The Associated Press that the US strike on Islamic State fighters on Friday was conducted using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thuderbolt ground attack aircraft and AH-64 Apache helicopters.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, said more strikes should be expected.

New photos of the people in Jeffrey Epstein’s circle are among thousands of documents released by the US Department of Justice.

The tranche of material relating to the dead paedophile financier was made public shortly after 9pm UK time – hours before a legal deadline in the US following the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

They include images of his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a prison sentence after she was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with Epstein in 2021.

Follow live updates: What’s in latest documents

In one picture, she is seen posing outside 10 Downing Street, while in another, she is pictured in a swimming pool with Bill Clinton and a woman, whose face has been obscured.

The former US president is also pictured in a hot tub with an unidentified woman in another picture, while a separate image shows a painting of Mr Clinton wearing a blue dress with red high heels.

The context of the photos is unknown and being identified in the files does not suggest any wrongdoing.

In his 2024 memoir, Citizen: My Life After The White House, Mr Clinton wrote: “The bottom line is, even though it allowed me to visit the work of my foundation, travelling on Epstein’s plane was not worth the years of questioning afterward. I wish I had never met him.”

Many of the documents in the release have been heavily redacted, including a “masseuse list”, in which all 254 entries have been blacked out.

All 119 pages of a grand jury document are redacted in their entirety, while scores of women’s portraits, many of which appear to show them in sexual positions or are titled “nude”, are blacked out.

There are also handwritten notes, flight logs, and a contact book.

Another file features a scrapbook featuring pictures of Epstein and redacted pictures of women, with the caption on one page: “Is my cover blown?”

The US deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, said in a letter to Congress that more than 1,200 victims and their families were identified during a review of the records, which have been redacted to protect victims.

Celebrities including the late Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger, Motown singer Diana Ross and comedian Chris Tucker are among those pictured in the files. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by them.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles following controversy over his relationship with Epstein, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, also appear.

The former duke has been dogged by allegations that he sexually assaulted then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. He has always denied the accusations and any wrongdoing.

He paid millions to Ms Giuffre, whom he claims to have never met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.

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Epstein files release: Analysis from Washington

In one picture from the newly released files, the former prince is seen lying across five women, whose faces have been redacted, while Maxwell is stood behind smiling. It is not known where or when the photo was taken.

Several charities cut ties with Ms Ferguson after it emerged she had written a gushing message to Epstein, describing him as her “supreme friend”. Her spokesperson said she wrote the note because he had threatened to sue her.

Another Epstein associate, Lord Mandelson, is pictured with the late sex offender blowing the candles out on a birthday cake. It is a picture that has been published before.

Lord Mandelson was fired as the ambassador to the US in September over his links to Epstein.

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