Bill Gates has pulled out of a keynote address at the AI Impact Summit in India as he continues to face questions over his relationship with the deceased child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The billionaire Microsoft co-founder travelled to India, where his foundation works with the government on delivering AI for social good, earlier this week and was advertised as speaking at the international summit shortly after the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.

But Gates suddenly withdrew on Thursday morning, hours before he was due to address delegates, including the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.

The Gates Foundation said in a statement: “After careful consideration and to ensure the focus remains on the AI summit’s key priorities, Mr Gates will not be delivering his keynote address…”

The move came less than 48 hours after the Gates Foundation had insisted: “Bill Gates is attending the AI Impact Summit. He will be delivering his keynote as scheduled.”