Countess who took 30 f lights on paedophile’s ‘Lolita Express’ quits NSPCC

Lady Iveagh f lew with Epstein and Maxwell on trip to private island

THE wife of an aristocrat who flew more than 30 times on Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ private jet has stepped down from her role at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Clare Hazell raised thousands of pounds for the charity by hosting a classic car show each year at her family’s sprawling Elveden Estate in Norfolk.

The Mail on Sunday last month revealed that the interior designer – who became the Countess of Iveagh in 2001 when she married Edward Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh and a member of the brewing dynasty – had repeatedly travelled with serial paedophile Epstein on his private jet.

Flight logs revealed she took 32 flights between 1998 and 2000, including trips to his homes in New York, Florida, the Caribbean and New Mexico.

It was subsequently reported that US investigators want to contact the countess as part of their investigation into Epstein. There is no suggestion that she was involved with, or had knowledge of, any wrongdoing.

Lady Iveagh had been president of the NSPCC’s West Suffolk branch since at least October 2011, when she opened a new children’s centre for the charity in Ipswich, Suffolk.

The Elveden Classic Car Show, which takes place in the walled gardens of the Elveden Estate, last year raised £14,000 for the branch.

Until Thursday, the car show’s website stated: ‘ The NSPCC are fortunate enough to have Lady Iveagh as President for West Suffolk, and would like to thank Lord and Lady Iveagh for their continued support of this event.’

But last night, an NSPCC spokeswoman said: ‘In the past that was her title, she had a local volunteer fundraising role within a small branch based in the West Suffolk area. She no longer volunteers with us.’

The charity, which works to protect children from abuse and help them to recover, declined to say when Lady Iveagh had stepped down or why. In a statement, it added: ‘The safety of all children and young people is our number one priority. All our volunteering roles have appropriate checks specific to their responsibilities.’

The Countess did not respond to a request for comment.

The nature of her connection to Epstein is not fully clear. She was reportedly studying at Ohio State University in the 1990s and her contact details appear in

Epstein’s infamous ‘little black book’ under her married name, Clare HazellIveagh. According to flight logs, Epstein accompanied her on all but two of the flights. Ghislaine Maxwell, who is awaiting trial for allegedly recruiting and grooming some of Epstein’s young victims, was also on many of the flights.

Earlier this year, the NSPCC distanced itself from Prince Andrew, a former patron of its Full Stop campaign, after he suggested during his disastrous interview with BBC’s Newsnight that his role with the charity meant he ‘knew what to look for’ if children were being abused.

Andrew has been accused of having sex three times with one of Epstein’s victims. The Duke has repeatedly and strenuously denied the claims.

Last night, the charity declined to say whether it believed that Andrew should talk to US prosecutors about Epstein.

The s pokeswoman s ai d: ‘ Pri nce Andrew is no longer our patron. He supported our Full Stop campaign which ended in 2009.’

Infamous ‘little black book’ included aristocrat’s name