Connect with us

Published

on

Bill Clinton “threatened” a prominent magazine and told staff not to publish articles about Jeffrey Epstein, newly unsealed court documents suggest.

The claim is made in an email that was written by Virginia Giuffre – Epstein’s first public accuser – in 2011.

In the message to a journalist, Ms Giuffre alleges that the former US president had walked into the offices of Vanity Fair, and said stories about his “good friend” should not be written.

Latest updates: Second batch of files released

Prince Andrew is being sued by Virginia Giuffre
Image:
Virginia Giuffre

Graydon Carter, a former Vanity Fair editor, told The Daily Telegraph: “This categorically did not happen.”

Ms Giuffre was preparing to release a new book at the time – and describes being worried about what the magazine might publish about her.

Mr Clinton is among several high-profile figures who have been named in court filings relating to Ghislaine Maxwell, her relationship with Epstein and alleged victims of sexual abuse.

More on Bill Clinton

In documents released on Wednesday, it was claimed that Epstein had said Clinton “likes them young, referring to girls”.

Back in 2019, a spokesperson for the former president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.

There is no indication of any wrongdoing by Mr Clinton, and Sky News has contacted his foundation for a response to the latest court documents.

Epstein – a disgraced financier – had been accused of abusing underage girls as young as 14. In 2019, he killed himself in prison as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of helping recruit and groom teenagers for Epstein to molest.

Read more:
Names mentioned in unsealed documents
Why are the files being released now?

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Prince Andrew named in court files

Prince Andrew reported to police

Allegations of sexual assault made against the Duke of York have also re-emerged in the unsealed court documents.

Republic, a pressure group calling for the abolition of the monarchy, has reported Prince Andrew to the police after the filings were made public.

The group’s chief executive, Graham Smith, is urging the Met to reopen its investigations – and has called on the King to make a public statement on the matter.

Mr Smith said: “To date, there appears to have been no serious criminal investigation, no interview of the accused or other witnesses, and no clear justification for taking no action.”

There will be sleepless nights for some wealthy and high-profile individuals

When Judge Loretta Preska ruled that these documents, relating to the many crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, be unsealed, she said it was because there is a public interest in doing so.

But she also said it was because much of the information contained within them, and many of the names of Epstein’s associates, were already in the public domain. That has proven to be accurate.

Social media has been alive with chatter about a list of Epstein “clients” or co-conspirators being released imminently and conspiracy theories about celebrity paedophiles. But, as with the first tranche of documents, there was no bombshell revelation to be found anywhere in these 327 pages.

There were no allegations of new third parties being involved in sexual abuse. The documents included 19 different exhibits, from legal arguments to depositions recounting alleged crimes. The details were mostly already known because of how extensive the reporting around Epstein’s offending has been and years of evidence and testimony contained in connected criminal and civil cases.

Nevertheless, there are fascinating nuggets to be found among them about the circles Epstein moved in. Epstein allegedly boasted about his association with two former presidents, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. Both men are mentioned numerous times in the documents but neither is accused of any wrongdoing.

About 240 files are expected to be unsealed in total so this gradual release, day by day, could last well into next week. Judge Preska is also weighing arguments from additional Does who are seeking to have their names withheld from future disclosures.

Even though many of those named in the documents are not accused of wrongdoing, there will still be a lot of sleepless nights for some wealthy and high-profile individuals, sweating over what is contained on these pages.

Prince Andrew has strenuously denied the allegations against him in the past.

In 2022, he settled a civil case out of court with Virginia Giuffre after she claimed she was sexually assaulted by the prince when she was 17 years old.

That settlement, which was reported to be as much as £12m, carried no admission of guilt.

Buckingham Palace, which no longer speaks on behalf of the duke after he stepped down as a working royal in 2019 over his friendship with Epstein, has not commented on the documents.

Among the unsealed filings was evidence given by Johanna Sjoberg, who had worked for Epstein as a masseuse.

She alleged that Prince Andrew had touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside Epstein’s Manhattan apartment in 2001.

In other court documents, Ms Giuffre alleges she was sex trafficked to the duke and “two of the world’s most respected politicians” – but their names remain redacted.

Another filing shows that Ghislaine Maxwell claimed a journalist helped “concoct” the allegations against Prince Andrew and knew them to be “false”.

More documents to emerge

The court documents being unsealed relate to a 2015 civil lawsuit filed by Ms Giuffre against Maxwell, who was Epstein’s former girlfriend and household manager.

Ms Giuffre was suing Maxwell for defamation after her spokesperson issued a statement describing her allegations as “obvious lies”.

In December, New York district judge Loretta Preska ruled papers related to the case should no longer remain secret as many of the individuals mentioned have already given media interviews.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?

About 60 documents have been released so far, and approximately 190 more are set to enter the public domain in the coming days.

Dozens of Epstein’s associates are being named as a result, although many of them are not accused of wrongdoing.

Michael Jackson, Donald Trump, Stephen Hawking, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz are among those referred to in the filings.

Continue Reading

UK

Fourteen children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over Gateshead fire released on bail

Published

on

By

Fourteen children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over Gateshead fire released on bail

All 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a boy died in a fire have been released on police bail, officers said.

Layton Carr, 14, was found dead near the site of a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area of Gateshead on Friday.

Northumbria Police said on Saturday that they had arrested 11 boys and three girls in connection with the incident.

In an update on Sunday, a Northumbria Police spokesman said: “All those arrested have since been released on police bail pending further inquiries.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Teenager dies in industrial estate fire

Firefighters raced to the industrial site shortly after 8pm on Friday, putting out the blaze a short time later.

Police then issued an appeal for Carr, who was believed to be in the area at that time.

In a statement on Saturday, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.

More on Northumbria

David Thompson, headteacher of Hebburn Comprehensive School, where Layton was a pupil, said the school community was “heartbroken”.

Mr Thompson described him as a “valued and much-loved member of Year 9” and said he would be “greatly missed by everyone”.

He added that the school’s “sincere condolences” were with Layton’s family and that the community would “rally together to support one another through this tragedy”.

A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.

Pic: Gofundme
Image:
Pic: Gofundme

Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”

One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”

She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.

They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.

A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.

Continue Reading

UK

Football bodies could be forced to pay towards brain injury care costs of ex-players

Published

on

By

Football bodies could be forced to pay towards brain injury care costs of ex-players

Football bodies could be forced to pay towards the care costs of ex-players who have been diagnosed with brain conditions, under proposals set to be considered by MPs.

Campaigners are drafting amendments to the Football Governance Bill, which would treat conditions caused by heading balls as an “industrial injuries issue”.

The proposals seek to require the football industry to provide the necessary financial support.

Campaigners say existing support is not fit for purpose, including the Brain Health Fund which was set up with an initial £1m by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), supported by the Premier League.

But the Premier League said the fund has supported 121 families with at-home adaptations and care home fees.

From England‘s 1966 World Cup-winning team, both Jack and Bobby Charlton died with dementia, as did Martin Peters, Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles.

Neil Ruddock speaks to Sky's Rob Harris outside parliament
Image:
Neil Ruddock speaks to Sky’s Rob Harris outside parliament

Ex-players, including former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock, went to parliament last week to lobby MPs.

More on Dementia

Ruddock told Sky News he had joined campaigners “for the families who’ve gone through hell”.

“A professional footballer, greatest job in the world, but no one knew the dangers, and that’s scary,” he said.

“Every time someone heads a ball it’s got to be dangerous to you. You know, I used to head 100 balls a day in training. I didn’t realise that might affect my future.”

A study co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association (FA) in 2019 found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than members of the public of the same age.

‘In denial’

Among those calling on football authorities to contribute towards the care costs of ex-players who have gone on to develop conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia is Labour MP Chris Evans.

Mr Evans, who represents Caerphilly in South Wales, hopes to amend the Bill to establish a care and financial support scheme for ex-footballers and told a recent event in parliament that affected ex-players “deserve to be compensated”.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who helped to draft the amendment, said the game was “in denial about the whole thing”.

Mr Burnham called for it to be seen as “an industrial injuries issue in the same way with mining”.

In January, David Beckham lent his support to calls for greater support for footballers affected by dementia.

One of the amendments says that “the industry rather than the public should bear the financial burden”.

Read more from Sky News:
Woman missing for more than 60 years found ‘alive and well’
Meghan posts new photo of Prince Harry amid backlash

A spokesperson for the FA said it was taking a “leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game” and that it had “already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors”.

An English Football League spokesperson said it was “working closely with other football bodies” to ensure both professional and grassroots football are “as safe as it can be”.

The PFA and Premier League declined to comment.

Continue Reading

UK

Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

Published

on

By

Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

These are two separate and unrelated investigations by counter-terror officers.

But the common thread is nationality – seven out of the eight people arrested are Iranian.

And that comes in the context of increased warnings from government and the security services about Iranian activity on British soil.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Counter terror officers raid property

Last year, the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.

He linked that increase to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own backyard.

“As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or a broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,” he said.

The implication is that even as Iran grapples with a rapidly changing situation in its own region, having seen its proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, decimated and itself coming under Israeli attack, it may seek avenues further abroad.

More on Iran

The government reiterated this warning only a few weeks ago, with security minister Dan Jarvis addressing parliament.

“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” Jarvis said.

“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.

“Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”

Read more:
Anybody working for Iran in UK must register or face jail, government announces

As part of that address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which “criminalises assisting a foreign intelligence service”, among other things.

So it was notable that this was the act used in one of this weekend’s investigations.

The suspects were detained under section 27 of the same act, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.

Those powers are apparently being put to use.

Continue Reading

Trending