Reading Time: 3 minutesTwo British newspapers have published an email said to have been sent by the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, calling him a “supreme friend” – despite his conviction for sex offences. The Sun and the Mail on Sunday reported that the email, from 2011, was sent weeks after the duchess had publicly distanced herself from the disgraced financier. A spokesperson for the duchess – the former wife of the Prince Andrew, the Duke of York – said the email was to counter a threat Epstein had made to sue her for defamation. In an interview in 2011, the duchess said her involvement with Epstein had been a “gigantic error of judgment”. But The Sun and Mail on Sunday said shortly after giving the interview in 2011, the duchess emailed Epstein to say she had not used the word “paedophilia” in reference to him.