UK charities cut ties to Sarah Ferguson after reported email describing Jeffrey Epstein as 'friend'

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LONDON (AP) — A number of charities on Monday severed ties with Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, after British newspapers published an email that she reportedly wrote to the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, describing him as a “supreme friend.’’

Julia’s House, a children's hospice, said that the reported correspondence made it inappropriate for Ferguson, also known as the Duchess of York, to remain a patron. A spokesman for Ferguson said that she sent an email on the advice of her lawyers after Epstein threatened to sue her for associating him with sexual abuse in a media interview, Britain's Press Association reported.

“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,’’ the charity said. “We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past support.”

A food allergy charity, The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, and Prevent Breast Cancer, were also among the charities that cut ties in light of recent revelations. The Teenage Cancer Trust, which had an association with Ferguson for 35 years, also dropped her as a patron.

The email referred to a 2011 interview with the Evening Standard newspaper in which she apologized for accepting 15,000 pounds from Epstein.

“I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say,’’ Ferguson said in the interview. “Whenever I can, I will repay the money and have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”

But the following month, Ferguson sent an email to Epstein in which she “humbly apologized” for linking him to sex abuse, saying “you have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family,” The Sun newspaper reported over the weekend.

The Associated Press couldn't independently confirm that the email is authentic.

The story comes less than a month after Andrew himself was criticized for staying in touch with Epstein for five years longer than previously claimed.

Leaked email correspondence between Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak indicated that the prince had been in touch with Epstein as late as 2015, the Times of London reported. Andrew told the BBC in 2019 that he ceased all contact with Epstein in December 2010, after the late financier pled guilty to sex crimes in Florida.

Andrew and his ex-wife have faced a series of scandals amid concerns that the prince has tried to profit from his royal status.

He was forced to give up all royal duties and charity roles after the 2019 interview with the BBC in which he was criticized for trying to minimize his connections with Epstein and failing to show sympathy for his victims. Last year, it emerged that a suspected Chinese spy had developed close links with Andrew, raising concerns about efforts to put undue influence on other members of the royal family.