UK newspaper, The Daily Mail, is again calling out the newly elected Liberal leader and soon-to-be prime minister over his connection to convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who was intimately associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
Old photos linking Carney to Maxwell have resurfaced, reported the Mail on Tuesday.
The images, originally distributed on social media in January, show Carney and his wife, Diana, alongside Maxwell at the Wilderness Music Festival in Oxfordshire, England, in 2013.
At the time, Carney had recently taken up the role of Governor of the Bank of England, a position he held until 2020, reported the Mail.
The photos, while years old, have sparked controversy as Carney prepares to lead the Liberal Party of Canada into an election where they trail Conservatives.
Carney, who succeeded Justin Trudeau as party leader following Trudeau’s resignation in January, isn't an MP, adding to criticism of his legitimacy.
In the pictures, Carney appears relaxed and smiling next to Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of recruiting and grooming minors for Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.
Another image shows Diana Carney walking alongside Maxwell, who was a frequent guest at the festival due to her ties to the event’s host, Lord Rotherwick (Robin Cayzer). Cayzer is married to Diana Carney’s sister, Lady Tania Rotherwick, a connection that reportedly brought Maxwell into the Carneys’ circle.
The couple stayed at the Rotherwick family’s luxurious Cornbury Park manor during the festival, known as “Poshstock” for its luxury amenities.
A source close to Carney, speaking to the Toronto Sun, dismissed any suggestion of a close relationship with Maxwell.
“They are not friends,” the source said, noting Maxwell attended the same high school as Diana Carney’s sister decades earlier. The source accused Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and his campaign team, led by adviser Jenni Byrne, of orchestrating a smear campaign by amplifying the photos.
“This is another example of how Pierre Poilievre and Jenni Byrne have always played politics,” the source said, claiming the Conservatives fear Carney’s political potential.
Maxwell, once Epstein’s confidante, is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a U.S. federal prison following her 2021 conviction on multiple charges related to the trafficking of minors between 1994 and 2004.
Her ties to high-profile figures — including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Prince Andrew — have long cast a shadow over those photographed with her, even if the encounters predated her legal troubles, reported the Mail.
In Carney’s case, the photos were taken years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, though Maxwell’s own prosecution didn’t begin until 2020.
The Carney campaign has yet to issue an official response, though Daily Mail has reached out for comment.