City of York strips Sarah Ferguson of honour over Epstein friendship

She became Duchess of York when she married Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 1986, and the then-couple were given the honour as a wedding present from York the following year.

The decision comes after a series of fresh revelations regarding Fergie's long-standing friendship with paedophile financier Epstein.

Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley said: “We now know, following the release of thousands of documents, that Sarah Ferguson too had a close friendship with Epstein, which continued well beyond his conviction.

Read more: Andrew must do his duty and testify about Epstein in the US, leading congressman says

“We don’t expect recipients of York’s highest honour to be saints. We simply do not want them to be best friends of convicted paedophiles.

“We stand with victims. We stand for the rule of the rule of law. We stand for decency.”

Gwen Swinburn, a member of the public, addressed councillors during the debate.

She said: “The decision before you tonight is whether to remove the freedom of the city from Ms Ferguson.“It should not be a difficult one. It is the absolute minimum you should be doing.”

Councillor Claire Douglas, leader of the Labour group on the local authority, added: “As the people of York would expect, holding this status requires upholding the values and behaviours consistent with such an honour.

“Those who continued to associate with Jeffrey Epstein after his crimes became widely known fall well short of these expectations.“Sarah Ferguson falls into this category as the Epstein files have shown. I therefore call on council to support the motion as presented.”

Sarah and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were given the honour as a wedding present from York in 1987 during a visit to the city.

Councillors removed Andrew’s Freedom of the City of York in 2022 and the meeting at the time heard that he was the first person ever to have it taken away.

The only motion in the meeting on Thursday stated: “The council resolves that, pursuant to Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the City of York Council withdraws the Honorary Freeman of the City status from Sarah Ferguson, which was conferred upon her in 1987.”

This vote came after six companies linked to the former duchess started winding down in the wake of the publication of the Epstein files, according to Companies House documents.

It said an application to strike off each company was filed, after new revelations about her contact with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light.

Sarah’s Trust, a charity she had founded, also announced it would close “for the foreseeable future”.

The honorary freedom of the city is bestowed to recognise notable service by local residents, to distinguished people, and to royalty, the council has said previously.

Other recipients of the honour include the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, film composer John Barry, and actress Dame Judi Dench.