Prince Andrew

He won’t be missed that’s for sure. I only hope it doesn’t mean he plays more golf and we have to pay for more helicopter trips and security. My guess is he’ll not be a happy bunny but I wonder what grown up has orchestrated this and written the statement. He could go off to his £13m ski lodge for the duration.

Ha ha love it

Or Pizza Express ?

Foreseeable future?
And beyond with a bit of luck.

Ah well, he has plenty of places to hole up in and won't have to keep bumping into the general public in Lidl or Tesco

Too little too late?

Breaking News

Prince Andrew stepping back from official duties for the foreseeable future.

Why does it matter who took the photograph and why should it be about blackmail? These are sleazey friends as a ‘party’ - alleged Chief Pimp, later-to-to convicted paedophile , HM’s favourite son, and almost certainly abused young woman. GM has been his friend since uni, she introduced him to a JE ( whose girlfriend she once was) she was just delighted to help PA out I guess and keep all the connections going and invites to royal residences. I mean you’d do anything for a mate wouldn’t you? Lend them a book, look after their dog, supply a young girl ........l

Callisemon it it’s true Epstein took the photograph with the girls camera , what use could it be for blackmail ?

MawB re the Maxwell woman - my thought exactly, I think that it looked set up and a potential blackmail opportunity.

Reading more today about the possible sources of PA's wealth compared to his income - not just through Epstein, but could he have used his position as UK Trade Envoy to feather his own nest very nicely?
His wealth seems to be out of proportion to his known earnings.

suzie, not wishing to be rude but do you have a huge amount of time on your hands?........you are likely to need it, if entering into a conversation about the RF with certain posters.

What the hell was ? about in your post annie? It’s not a joking matter the role of GM ( PAs friend, visitor to royal residences and apparently pimp to the rich and powerful) FFS stop minimising this issue

The fact that sex abuse occurs within families, individually or in groups of various types of individual - rich, poor, white, non-white, male, female, religious and non-religious - is not a reason to diminish efforts to uncover it. Any type of exploitation, intimidation, neglect, and physical/sexual abuse should be investigated and, if possible, prosecuted.

Iam I really don’t think it ever will stop, no more than adultery will ever stop. I am not comparing child abuse with adultery , child neglect will never stop. If only it would.

Eloethan, thanks for posting the summary of the earlier prosecution of JE. Hopefully, it will put a stop to the attempts by some to suggest it's possible to have spend time with JE and been unaware of his lifestyle.

The sexual abuse and exploitation of children by adults has taken place since time began. It crosses every race, culture, ethnicity and class - always has and sadly unless societies begin to face the extent of this abuse of children, it always will.

Maw I didn’t notice her smile , don’t think I will look at any photographs of me ?

Deliberately picking holes like that annie do you no favours in supporting your protestations that you don’t support abuse. You seem to not have turned your forensic skills to his defence do you? Why not%?

I may be reading too much into the photograph but one thing that jumps out at me is Ghislaine Maxwell’s smile in the background - smug? Controlling? Indulgent? Triumphant? Whatever it is, I don’t like it!

Thank you Eloethan

Yes the photograph is proof they met, it does not prove as claimed by a poster they were together at a party.

Best I add to my posts - the above post is not defence of Andrew ? and does not support abuse in any form, be it physical or verbal

2 prison guards are to be charged, they were suppose to be checking Epstein every 30 minutes, they falsified their records.

A forensic pathologist hired by Epsteins’s brother has said
- he more likely died from being strangled.

There was a prosecution in 2008 on lesser charges. Perhaps you hadn't noticed, but Epstein was in prison awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he died. He can't be tried now because he's dead, but possibly other people could be.

As to the 2008 prosecution, from the Perversion of Justice website:

"Palm Beach County Courthouse

June 30, 2008

"Jeffrey Edward Epstein appeared at his sentencing dressed comfortably in a blue blazer, blue shirt, jeans and gray sneakers. His attorney, Jack Goldberger, was at his side.

"At the end of the 68-minute hearing, the 55-year-old silver-haired financier — accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls — was fingerprinted and handcuffed, just like any other criminal sentenced in Florida.

"But inmate No. W35755 would not be treated like other convicted sex offenders in the state of Florida, which has some of the strictest sex offender laws in the nation.

"Ten years before the #MeToo movement raised awareness about the kid-glove handling of powerful men accused of sexual abuse, Epstein’s lenient sentence and his extraordinary treatment while in custody are still the source of consternation for the victims he was accused of molesting when they were minors.

"Beginning as far back as 2001, Epstein lured a steady stream of underage girls to his Palm Beach mansion to engage in nude massages, masturbation, oral sex and intercourse, court and police records show [my emphasis]. The girls — mostly from disadvantaged, troubled families — were recruited from middle and high schools around Palm Beach County. Epstein would pay the girls for massages and offer them further money to bring him new girls every time he was at his home in Palm Beach, according to police reports.

"The girls, now in their late 20s and early 30s, allege in a series of federal civil lawsuits filed over the past decade that Epstein sexually abused hundreds of girls, not only in Palm Beach, but at his homes in Manhattan, New Mexico and in the Caribbean.

"In 2007, the FBI had prepared a 53-page federal indictment charging Epstein with sex crimes that could have put him in federal prison for life. But then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta signed off on a non-prosecution agreement, which was negotiated, signed and sealed so that no one would know the full scope of Epstein’s crimes. The indictment was shelved, never to be seen again.

"Epstein instead pleaded guilty to lesser charges in state court, and was required to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced to 18 months incarceration.

"But Epstein — who had a long list of powerful, politically connected friends — didn’t go to state prison like most sex offenders in Florida. Instead, the multimillionaire was assigned to a private wing of the Palm Beach County stockade, where he was able to hire his own security detail. Even then, he didn’t spend much time in a cell. He was allowed to go to his downtown West Palm Beach office for work release, up to 12 hours a day, six days a week, records show.

"He was permitted to hire his own private psychologist for his required sex-offender counseling, and after his release from jail, his subsequent year of probation under house arrest was filled with trips on his corporate jet to Manhattan and to his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands — all approved by the courts with no objections from the state.

"On the morning of his sentencing in 2008, none of Epstein’s victims were in the courtroom to protest his soft jail term or the unusual provisions of his incarceration and probation — and that was by design."

I and others are not saying that a photograph of Andrew with his arm around the girl is evidence he had committed an illegal act. I am saying it is evidence that he knew the girl - though he says he "can't remember". Since it appears that there were many girls going in and out of Epstein's various residences, it is quite possible that he doesn't remember, but whether he remembers her or not, he knew her - and Ghislaine Maxwell is also in the photograph. The fact that she has made herself, or has been made, scarce demonstrates that there are several people with something to hide in this matter.

As for Epstein's supposed suicide, it is astonishing that a person who had already made one attempt at taking his life and who was supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes was in fact not checked for at least 3 hours. Also that there was apparently no CCTV footage from the area around his cell. The latest news is that two prison guards have been arrested. Whether they were paid off to ignore the suicide watch procedure or whether they just didn't do their job properly may be difficult to know. But they would have to be pretty stupid not to realise that the death by suicide of this man would most certainly put the spotlight on them and their dereliction of duty.

True Alexa , so not just class or ethnic variation,

Anniebach, I believe your are correct most abuse is carried out in the home.

I believe that power corrupts. When the powerful one abuses the weaker one the powerful one whoever they are is corrupt.

annie two points

* have you never heard of the authorities here ( and I’d guess in the US) failing victims and the victims then having to go down the private prosecution path? There are many examples of this and often it’s the only was that victims/families can keep the issue in the public eye. Hillsborough is a high profile example of this but there are many more. Re JE because of his power and influence ( and no doubt the high profile powerful people that he provided young girls for) there would be every suspicion that the authorities would want to close down any investigation as soon as possible. You only have to read the details ( which I’m sure you have) of his original case, the severity of the original charges, the plea bargain and the circumstances under which he served his ‘time’) to realise how victims might well feel they might be denied justice

*second (for you and eazy) whoever said a photo was proof of having slept with someone. What a truly ridiculous comment. A photo is proof that they were together at a party ( even if PA can’t remember it) and it’s certainly in this case, proof of his serious lack of judgement and general sleaze - VR was only 4 years older than his daughter fff

Alexa if as you claim - ethnic variation and social class variation, why is most sexual abuse carried out in the home by Male relatives and friends

Grapefruitpip, I understand your point about various sorts of abusers. That is true. There seems to be an ethnic variation of male predation on women, and there is a social class variation too.

My point is both of those attitudes arise from belief that power entitles. Men and to a lesser extent women may divided into one of two classes: those who protect the weak, and those who exploit the weak.