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US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
An image that appears to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been found in documents released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
It is the first known image of the three men together, but no time or location is given for the photograph.
The trio are sat around a wooden deck table, with mugs decorated with the US flag lined up in front of them.
There is no suggestion that appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing.
Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Mandelson have separately been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over their connections to the paedophile and have both since been released under investigation.
Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
Lord Mandelson has repeatedly let it be known that he believes he has not acted criminally. He has long argued that he accepted Epstein and his lawyer's version of events and only discovered the truth after his death in 2019.
Their connections to the late financier have seen both men lose positions, with Mountbatten-Windsor stripped of his royal titles and Lord Mandelson sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US.
Mountbatten-Windsor has been accused of having sex with Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager. A civil case brought by Giuffre was settled with no admission of guilt, and he has strenuously denied the allegations.
In two of the images he is seen touching the person, who is unidentified and fully clothed, on her stomach. Another image shows him staring directly at the camera.
He has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in mid-February in Norfolk, after Thames Valley Police said it was assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former prince with Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor served as a UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
Lord Mandelson was sacked as ambassador after supportive emails he sent to Epstein as he faced charges for sex offences in 2008 emerged in the Epstein files.
Images of him standing in his underwear have also been released by the DOJ.
The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation last month over allegations that, while he was serving as a government minister, Lord Mandelson passed on market-sensitive government information to Epstein.
Lord Mandelson has not publicly commented in recent weeks on the Epstein files, but the BBC understands his position is he has not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain.
