Pedophilia is disgusting. When one hears of people abusing small children, even their own, my instinct is they have no right to live.

No doubt that Epstein was a sleaze. And I wouldn’t have wanted my own teenage daughter anywhere near him.

However. This isn’t what happened here. These were sexually active young women who were not kept trapped in some dungeon but who returned to his Florida mansion again and again, bringing their friends.

Were they forced? Have you ever tried to get a teenager to do anything they don’t want to do? Like tidy up their room?

A major issue is the Age of Consent laws. 18 in Florida, where the alleged offenses took place, but 16 in Georgia, just one state to the north. If Epstein had had the good sense to build his love palace in Georgia instead, then most of these claims would not exist.

16 is the age of consent in the UK too. So if this Virginia girl DID have sex with Prince Andrew in the UK when she was 17, that would be no crime either. She claimed she was forced by Maxwell. How was she forced? I doubt very much a knife was held to her throat. She seemed to be perfectly happy to be jetting around the world in luxury. She got a massive, undisclosed settlement for her alleged “suffering” and now is on the bandwagon for another handout.

I repeat that Epstein and Maxwell are not my idea of “nice people”. But I have difficulty being part of the crowd baying for blood.