Jeffrey Epstein had in his possession a series of blackmail sex tapes of former US president Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Virgin boss Richard Branson, a United States court had been told, the latest Epstein files show. However the credibility of the witness who made the allegations, one of Epstein’s trafficked victims Sarah Ransome, was questioned in the same court case.

Two years after the court case ended Ms Ransome told the New Yorker magazine that she had invented the existence of the tapes.

To date no sex tapes have emerged in the various court cases involving Epstein, the child abuser who mingled with high society, royals and politicians and who trafficked young girls to his friends for sex.

However in the 2015 civil defamation case initiated by another of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, against Epstein’s procurer Ghislaine Maxwell the court was shown emails from Ms Ransome to a journalist Maureen Callahan of the New York Post. Ms Giuffre and Ms Maxwell settled the case in 2017.

The email from Ms Ransome says: “When my friend had sexual intercourse with Clinton, Prince Andrew and Richard Branson, sex tapes were in fact filed on each separate occasion by Jeffery.

“Thank God she managed to get a hold of some footage of the filmed sex tapes, which clearly identify the faces of Clinton, Prince Andrew and Branson having sexual intercourse with her. “Frustratingly enough Epstein was not seen in any of the footage but he was clever like that!”

The friend was not named, but Ms Ransome also claimed that Donald Trump had sex with many girls, including this same friend and that he like her friend’s “pert nipples”.

Ms Ransome added: “When my friend eventually had the courage to speak out and went to the police in 2008 to report what had happened, nothing was done and she was utterly humiliated by the police department where she went to report what had happened with Epstein, Clinton, Branson and Prince Andrew.”

The unsealed tranche of documents, released on Monday, also show that Epstein’s lawyer, Alan Dershowitz had requested the court unseal the emails to assess the credibility of Ms Ransome. “The emails are a necessary antidote to Ms Ransome’s deposition misstatements because they demonstrate she manifestly lacks credibility,’’ the court was told.

Ms Ransome’s emails also accused “evil” Hillary Clinton of sending “Special Agents Forces Men” to provide a substantial payout directly for the Clinton Foundation “to keep her quiet”.

She said she wanted to ensure neither Mrs Clinton nor Mr Trump won the 2016 election.

“I will take down Epstein and his bunch of cronies myself!” she said, revealing she had given information to a Russian newspaper, and had taken copies of the tapes and put them in a safe place.

A day later Ms Ransome sent another email to Ms Callahan saying she wanted to retract everything she had told her and walk away from it because the revelations would “create pain for my family”.

Also released on Monday were claims by Ms Maxwell’s lawyer Philip Barden that Prince Andrew was too big to have sex in a bath, as alleged by Ms Giuffre. Ms Giuffre had claimed she had had sex with Andrew on three occasions, including once in the London mews bathroom of Ms Maxwell.

Mr Barden says in the court transcript: “By way of example I recall that prior to the December 2014 filing of the joinder motion and the subsequent press reports that Ms Giuffre clearly stated that she did not have sex with Prince Andrew.

“Yet in her joinder motion she claimed she did have sex with Prince Andrew and that the sex occurred in what can only be described as a very small bathtub.

“Too small for a man of Prince Andrew’s size to enjoy a bath in let alone sex.

“So as of December 2014 it was clear Ms Giuffre had made polar opposite statements. She was either lying when she said they did not have sex or when she said they did.”

Ms Giuffre and Andrew settled a separate civil case, without any admission of guilt, in 2021. Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied Ms Giuffre’s allegations.

Various images of young girls on Epstein’s private island Little St James in 2006 were also released in the latest tranche of documents.