The former US secretary of state urged Republicans to question Donald Trump ‘directly under oath’ about his ties with the convicted sex offender

Hillary Clinton appeared before a congressional committee investigating her supposed links to Jeffrey Epstein – and accused its Republican members of targeting her in a bid to distract from Donald Trump’s involvement with the convicted sex offender.

The former US secretary of state answered questions for hours during a closed-door session on Thursday, a day before her husband, the former US president Bill Clinton, was also due to appear.

The US justice department has released millions of files related to Epstein in recent months, indicating that many high-profile figures, including the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, continued friendships with him after his conviction of child sex offences in 2008.

Here are the key moments from Thursday’s testimony.