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ANDREW WINDSOR has done good work for British businesses overseas, Boris Johnson said today after weeks of speculation about the friendship between Queen Elizabeth Windsor’s second son and US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The prince was a special UK trade representative for a decade until he stood down in 2011 amid concerns over his contact with Mr Epstein.
Asked during media interviews at the G7 Summit in France whether he had confidence in Mr Windsor, the PM told ITV News: “I’ve worked with Prince Andrew, I’ve seen the good he has been able to do for UK business overseas.
“I have no comment, or indeed no knowledge of this other stuff.”
Despite Mr Johnson’s praise, WikiLeaks has previously revealed that US diplomats regarded the prince as “rude.”
In his official role, the Duke of York often travelled to dictatorships to talk up trade deals with Britain.
At a cosy meeting in Kyrgyzstan in 2008, he denounced a Serious Fraud Office probe into British arms company BAE as “idiocy” and said investigative journalists “poke their noses everywhere and (presumably) make it harder for British businessmen to do business,” according to the leaked cables.
On Saturday, Mr Windsor issued a lengthy statement about his relationship with Mr Epstein, who reportedly took his own life in a Manhatten jail earlier this month while being held on sex-trafficking charges.
He said it was a “mistake” to meet Mr Epstein after he left prison in 2010, claiming: “At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.”