Stephen Hawking's family clarify identity of women pictured with professor in bikinis in Epstein files

Stephen Hawking's family have spoken out to clarify an image of the professor released in the Epstein files.

Earlier this year, a photograph of Hawking - who died from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2018 - was released in the latest batch of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In the image, Hawking is grinning while sat in-between two women whose identities have been redacted by the US Department of Justice. It is not known when or where the image was taken.

This isn't the first time images and mentions of Hawking have come up in the Epstein files, with one image showing the A Brief History of Time author dining at the disgraced financier's home on Little Saint James in 2006.

Hawking has never been accused of any wrongdoing, and any mention in the Epstein files does not suggest wrongdoing or knowledge of criminal activity.

Hawking's family have spoken out to clarify the image (US Department of Justice)

The family of the professor have now come forward to clarify the image, revealing the two women photographed next to Hawking were his 'long term carers' who had travelled with him from the UK, according to The Times.

Hawking had lived with a slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease, which meant he depended on full-time carers to live. He was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease in 1963 at the age of 21 and lived with the condition for 55 years, despite being given a two-year life expectancy.

His relatives went on to reveal the photograph was dated to 2006 and taken while the professor was staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in St Thomas. He had given a speech on quantum cosmology at the event, titled Energy of Empty Space That Isn’t Zero, alongside 21 other scientists.

"Professor Hawking made some of the greatest contributions to physics in the 20th century while at the same time being the longest-known survivor of motor neurone disease, a debilitating condition which left him reliant on a ventilator, voice synthesiser, wheelchair and round-the-clock medical care," a representative for the Hawking family told The Mirror.

The professor was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 21 in 1963 (Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)

"Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct on his part is wrong and far-fetched in the extreme."

The image follows the release of an email from Epstein, appearing to suggest that Virginia Roberts Giuffre - Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's accuser - had alleged Hawking had taken part in an 'underage orgy'.

"You can issue a reward to any of Virginia’s friends, acquaints, family that come forward and help prove her allegations are false," the message, sent from Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell, read.

"The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy."