Andrew Neil sues Jennifer Arcuri over claims he was linked to Jeffrey Epstein

Andrew Neil is suing Jennifer Arcuri over claims he was linked to Jeffrey Epstein, saying he never met the paedophile and that it was Ghislaine Maxwell who put him in the businessman’s “black book”.

On Tuesday, Mr Neil also threatened to take legal action against any Twitter users who reposted and endorsed the “vile and untrue accusations” on the social media site.

The row erupted after Ms Arcuri, an entrepreneur who has previously claimed to have had a romantic relationship with Boris Johnson, tweeted images of Mr Neil’s address in Mr Epstein’s “black book” of contacts along with the suggestion the veteran journalist knew the disgraced financier.

The tweet was deleted after Mr Neil said he was instructing his solicitors to take action over “this clear libel and defamation”.

He also warned other Twitter users retweeting the accusation, saying: “I’m taking this action not just to hold Arcuri, who I’ve never met and have no interest in, to account but, more importantly, to establish that the twitterati can’t just promulgate evil lies without consequences.

“If you think anonymity will protect you, you’re in for a big surprise.”

Image was ‘all over the internet’

Ms Arcuri later denied on Twitter she had deleted the tweet in response to the threat of litigation, saying it was instead because the image was already “all over the internet” and “all public domain”.

Following the accusation, Mr Neil tweeted he had appeared in the black book as he had met Ghislaine Maxwell three times in New York in the mid-Nineties.

He added: “I never met Epstein or frequented any of his properties. Think carefully before you say/imply anything else.”

The Telegraph understands the meetings between Mr Neil and Maxwell were brief social encounters, in which Epstein was never mentioned, and that the pair had not spoken in the intervening 26 years.

Sources close to the broadcaster said Mr Neil is now seeking “substantial damages” from Ms Arcuri, even if she offered an apology, and intended to donate any proceeds from the action to a charity supporting victims of child abuse.