Ghislaine Maxwell’s niece has been forced to step down as a school governor after claiming the child sex offender posed ‘no danger to the public’.
Matilda Munro, 41, also argued the treatment of her sex trafficking aunt was ‘deeply troubling’ and begged for her to be granted bail in a letter to the New York District Court, insisting her imprisonment was ‘punitive and unjust’.
In a pre-trial letter, written on November 4, 2020, four months after Ghislaine was arrested by the FBI and charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein abuse young girls, Mrs Munro complained her aunt was being kept in ‘inhumane and degrading’ conditions in New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
The bereavement counsellor said Epstein’s accomplice, who groomed girls as young as 14, should be allowed the ‘support of her family and friends’ as she prepared to face trial, claiming we are ‘living in extraordinary times’ because of the Covid pandemic.
Mrs Munro resigned as governor of Columbia Primary School after the letter emerged in the latest release of the Epstein Files, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Mrs Munro, a former teacher and Lib Dem council candidate, served as chair of the Tower Hamlets school’s Local Governing Board for four years and her replacement will be selected on May 18.
In a newsletter to parents, the school thanked Mrs Munro for being a ‘star governor’, her ‘dedicated service’ and for being a ‘champion for inclusivity, diversity and staff wellbeing’ as it announced her resignation.
Most parents were unaware that she was related to Ghislaine until the letter emerged, one local told the Daily Mail.
Matilda Munro (pictured right) argued her sex trafficking aunt was ‘no danger to the public’ and begged for her to be granted bail
The letter, written on November 4, 2020, came four months after Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested by the FBI and charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein abuse young girls
Mrs Munro complained her aunt was being kept in ‘inhumane and degrading’ conditions in New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center. Pictured: Ghislaine in a cell in July, 2020
Mrs Munro, known as Tilly, is the eldest child of Kevin Maxwell, who was granted bail in 1992 while on trial for alleged involvement and fraud in the plundering of £460million from the Mirror Group’s pension fund by his father Robert Maxwell.
Kevin, who later became Britain’s biggest bankrupt, was acquitted in 1996.
Mrs Munro, a mother-of-three, told New York District Court judge Alison Nathan that the time her father was on bail was ‘precious’ for their family as they knew he would have been in prison for the rest of their childhood if found guilty.
She urged her to think of Ghislaine’s step-children and not to punish them by taking her out of their lives.
She also protested the conditions her aunt was subject to while awaiting trial, claiming the majority of letters she sent to her were being returned.
Mrs Munro said her aunt’s solitary confinement was putting her ‘functioning mind’ at risk and would not give her a ‘fair opportunity to defend herself’ when on trial.
She twice wrote the sex offender was ‘of no danger to the public’ and was not a flight risk because she had not yet fled the US – before claiming the ‘loss of liberties’ during Covid had made her reflect on the value of seeing family and the ‘ability to hug them’.
Addressing the judge, Mrs Munro wrote: ‘I have no idea what value, if any, you will place on my words – but I write anyway in the hope that she can be granted bail.’
She added: ‘It does strike me as deeply troubling that a person – though innocent until proven guilty – can be treated in a way that on any measure is inhumane and degrading.
‘I can think of no justification whatever for her not having been fed properly, or not having access to glasses so she can read, or indeed the majority of the letters I have written to her being sent back.’
Mrs Munro resigned as governor of Columbia Primary School (pictured) after the letter emerged in the latest release of the Epstein Files
Ghislaine Maxwell was not granted bail and is currently serving 20 years in prison in the US
The letter, written on November 4, 2020, was addressed to New York District Court judge Alison Nathan
Ghislaine was not granted bail amid fears she would flee to France or the UK and go into hiding. She is currently serving 20 years in prison in the US after being sentenced in 2022.
Mrs Munro ran unsuccessfully as a Lib Dem councillor for Bethnal Green West in 2018.
She lived in a commune in the area with her brother Ted Maxwell, who is standing as an independent councillor for the same ward in Thursday’s local election.
His campaign is backed by the Greens after he vowed to create ‘safer streets’ for children by campaigning for the introduction of a divisive Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme.
Asked about his siblings advocating for Ghislaine, the council hopeful said his family had ‘fierce loyalty’ and ‘tend to stick by each other’.
A spokesperson for The LETTA Trust, which runs Columbia Primary School, told the Daily Mail: ‘Tilly Munro stepped down from the Local Governing Board on 27 March 2026.
‘Anita Barzey, former vice chair, is in post as the acting chair of the Local Governing Board for the remainder of the school year.
‘We continue to work together to ensure that Columbia Primary provides an excellent education in the local community.’
Mrs Munro has been contacted for comment.
