A ROYAL family member reportedly told paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein they would “play more soon” after claiming they no longer had contact, new court documents show.
The Times reports that after discussing press reports the day a photo of Prince Andrew and then 17-year-old Virginia Guiffre was published, the royal family member told Epstein: “keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
Andrew previously told the BBC that he had broke off his friendship with the sex offender in December 2010.
The claim was made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in court documents for a legal battle against former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley.
Andrew is not referred to by name in the legal filing but only identified as “a member of the British royal family”.
Staley is appealing against a finding by the watchdog that he gave a misleading account of the nature of his relationship with Epstein, and denies doing so.
Other court documents confirm they knew each other and Epstein had arranged for them to meet repeatedly.
In 2023, Staley was fined £1.8 million and banned from holding senior roles in the financial sector by the FCA after it found he misled the watchdog over the nature of his relationship with Epstein.
Staley acted as a private banker to the disgraced financier during his time at JP Morgan, where he worked for more than 30 years, but claimed that his last contact with him was “well before” he joined Barclays in December 2015.
But the FCA found that in emails between the two, Staley described Epstein as one of his “deepest” and “most cherished” friends.
He reportedly sent Staley a note called “CityUK and the future of the financial sector” – later forwarding this on to the financier saying: “Below is something I forwarded to your boy.”
The former Labour business, trade and Northern Ireland secretary appears to have stayed with Epstein in New York in the same year.
The American emailed Staley in May 2012 saying: “Peter Mandelson here at 5 — staying a couple of days.”
Staley replied: “If I get back in time, I will swing by.”
Epstein emailed: “come any time”.
A spokesperson for Mandelson said: “Lord Mandelson very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein.
“This connection has been a matter of public record for some time. He never had any kind of professional or business relationship with Epstein in any form.”
