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In late 2018, Steve Bannon, formerly Donald Trump's chief strategist, was in the UK preparing for a speech at the Oxford Union.

The event was disrupted by numerous protesters, and Bannon, scheduled to board a flight that evening, told Jeffrey Epstein in an message: "Protesters slowed down speech don't think I can make the plane we are heading to heathrow".

Epstein replied: "There. Is a gulf air that leaves at 950 with a stop in Bahrain". Bannon answered: "U r an excellent helper".

These exchanges were released on this week alongside more than 20,000 documents from the estate of Epstein, the late financier convicted of sex crimes.

The release by the Congressional committee includes an text conversation where Bannon's identity is redacted. Media outlets has been able to establish his identity by matching the timeline, occurrences, and locations mentioned.

For example, Epstein discusses chartering a jet from the UK for the unnamed individual in the chat, and commends their "address at Oxford". Bannon participated in the News Xchange conference on 14 November, and gave the speech at the Oxford on November 16.

Bannon, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, declined to comment on the inquiry.

Epstein's Assurance to Bannon

Bannon served as the president's closest aides in the lead-up to the 2016 election and during the initial phase of his first administration, but resigned from the White House in August 2017.

He has acknowledged he was making a film about Epstein before his death and allegedly has approximately 15 hours of recordings. In a live taping of his show recently, he stated: "We plan to publish the film, the multi-part documentary, in the coming year - at the start of next year."

But the recently disclosed documents indicate Bannon's connection with Epstein extended than being his biographer, with the convicted paedophile occasionally seeming to act like a personal assistant.

A few days before the conversation in which Epstein seemed to arranged a charter jet for Bannon, Epstein remarked: "what's it like to have the most highly paid booking agent in history ".

Bannon thanked him: "U r pretty good assistant", to which Epstein responded "Therapies. Excluded".

Discussing a visit to "Abu Dhabi" in another message, Epstein assured Bannon: "I'll make sure you're taken care of."

British Affairs Discussed in Exchanges

The released messages also reveal Bannon and Epstein discussing UK politics in 2018.

On the same day his address at the Oxford Union, Bannon messaged Epstein: "I've gotten pulled into the EU exit thing this morning with Nigel, Johnson and Mogg."

Then, in what appears to be a allusion to the UK prime minister, the struggling British leader at the time, he added: "The guys are attempting to proceed. may soon…"

Epstein suggested Bannon: "In my view staying as much as you can in the UK. Best-- so others get the dedication of your follow through."

Soon after, Epstein asked: "Can Theresa May remain in power". Bannon replied: "It seems unlikely BUT the people here have little courage" and noted "Johnson ; Gove; Rees Mogg; David Davis - someone has to take charge".

May was eventually removed in May 2019 after surviving multiple attempts of no confidence in late 2018.

A spokesman for Reform UK informed the BBC: "Farage has never been in a gathering with Steve Bannon, Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson." And there is nothing to suggest that encounter occurred.

The Congress will decide soon on whether the Department of Justice should release all its records concerning its probe into Epstein, who passed away in jail in 2019.

Interest in Epstein's associations with influential individuals was renewed this week after the publication of more than 20,000 documents from his archives.

Some of those mentioned Trump, who has repeatedly rejected any wrongdoing. The leader was a friend of Epstein's for years, but says they parted ways in the 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested.