Mrs Kennedy told a friend: ‘We almost indulged in a wrestling match. It was most embarrassing.

‘I mean, I was flattered that I turned him on so much at my age, but Bill was just like Jack in the sense that neither of them wanted to take “no” for an answer.

‘Ever since that day I prefer not to be alone in the same room with Bill. I fear he’s a man who never gives up.’

A spokesman for the Clintons said on Sunday: ‘[Is it] possible to quote me laughing at the sheer absurdity of this story?’