Ex-Harvard president Larry Summers steps back from public role after Epstein email release

Former Harvard president Larry Summers has said he will step back from public commitments after his emails with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein were made public.

"I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognise the pain they have caused," he said in a statement to CBS News, the BBC's US partner. "I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr Epstein."

Emails released by Congress last week show Summers, a former US treasury secretary, communicated with Epstein until the day before the paedophile's 2019 arrest for sex trafficking minors.