Duchess of York loses charity ties over Epstein

Multiple charities have severed ties with the Duchess of York after it emerged she had described the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as a “supreme friend”.

- Kevin Rawlinson, Robyn Vinter

A spokesperson for Sarah Ferguson has previously said the comments were made in a letter of apology to Epstein written in 2011 to head off threats of legal action after she had linked him to paedophilia in a newspaper interview.

The children’s hospice Julia’s House was the first yesterday to announce its decision to end its association with the duchess citing her correspondence with Epstein as a deciding factor.

The organisation said: “Following the information shared this weekend on the Duchess of York’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, Julia’s House has taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity. We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past wsupport." The British Heart Foundation and the Teenage Cancer Trust, two of the biggest charities the duchess has been involved in, later said they had also cut ties with her.