Well they would deny impropriety wouldn’t they ?

I’ve been thinking about the long forgotten Stephen Ward a bit recently. Those of a certain age may recall that Ward was a friend of some men in the public eye for whom he arranged a bit of naughty nookie. The men included John Profumo whose Ward-arranged liaison with Christine Keeler got him into trouble and ended his promising political career.

The parallels with Epstein are obvious though the latter’s activities were far more extensive and evil. But both Profumo and Andrew Windsor and the rest needed procurers which is what Ward and Epstein (and Ghislaine Maxwell) were. To actually find your own girls was either difficult or a bit sordid and risky for a public figure so they got someone to do it for them.

Ward’s girls were on the cusp of prostitution. They were doing it for the money, they weren’t underage and cannot be seen to have been exploited. I suspect that many of Epstein’s girls were much the same. Perhaps that’s why surprisingly few have come forward to tell their stories? Epstein hunted in the dodgy part of Palm Beach. The girls he found were not kidnapped but came voluntarily. Many didn’t know what was going to happen to them precisely and became victims of crime. 

Is it the same the whole world over with poor girls getting used by rich men for their pleasure? I suspect that it is. Stephen Ward and Jeffrey Epstein both liked the status and celebrity access that their procurement roles gave them. That it was morally questionable and (in Epstein’s case) often illegal didn’t matter. A blind eye was turned.

Some are in danger of hypocrisy over Epstein. The guest list on the “Lolita Express” and at Little St James (his island) includes some who have criticised or maybe gone into denial about what they saw there. Prosecutors at Maxwell’s trial used Little St. James as one of the key locations in the broader account of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation, portraying it not just as a luxury getaway but as a place where victims were isolated and abused as part of the criminal enterprise that Maxwell helped facilitate. 

So if they went to the island surely visitors, even if they themselves didn’t commit abuse, knew what was going on. There are credible reports that Peter Mandelson visited Epstein’s island supported by witness statements and leaked emails. Mandelson disputes any negative implications of these allegations . Back to Stephen Ward at whose trial Mandy Rice-Davies said of Lord Astor’’s denial of allegations made about him by her “Well he would, wouldn’t he?”