Sarah Ferguson has officially lost the title of the Freedom of the City of York (Image: Getty)
Councillors in York have unanimously agreed to strip Sarah Ferguson of her Freedom of the City of York due to her association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. City of York Council stripped her of the title during a meeting at the Guildhall in York on Thursday evening.
During the meeting, the council considered a single motion: âThe 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.â
The vote comes after proposals to strip 66-year-old Ms Ferguson of the honorary status were first mooted in October. This came following an email between her and the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to the surface.
The email from 2011 described him as a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to her and her family. It was sent after the disgraced financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008 and after Ms Ferguson said her involvement with him was an error of judgment.
Sarah and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were given the honour as a wedding present from York in 1987 during a visit to the city. In 2022, councillors removed Andrewâs Freedom of the City of York and he was the first person ever to have it taken away at the time.
Sarah Ferguson appears in the Epstein files (Image: Getty)
Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley said: âWe 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.
âWe donât expect recipients of Yorkâs highest honour to be saints. We simply do not want them to be best friends of convicted paedophiles.
âWe stand with victims. We stand for the rule of the rule of law. We stand for decency.â
Gwen Swinburn, a member of the public, addressed councillors during the debate.
She said: âThe decision before you tonight is whether to remove the freedom of the city from Ms Ferguson.
âIt should not be a difficult one. It is the absolute minimum you should be doing.â
Councillor Claire Douglas, leader of the Labour group on the local authority, added: âAs the people of York would expect, holding this status requires upholding the values and behaviours consistent with such an honour.
âThose who continued to associate with Jeffrey Epstein after his crimes became widely known fall well short of these expectations.
âSarah Ferguson falls into this category as the Epstein files have shown. I therefore call on council to support the motion as presented.â
The council has previously said that the honorary freedom of the city is awarded to residents who have provided exceptional service, as well as to distinguished figures and members of the royal family.
Following the release of the Epstein files, Companies House records show that six companies linked to the former duchess began the process of winding down. Meanwhile, Sarahâs Trust, a charity she founded, announced it would close âfor the foreseeable futureâ.
