Among the millions of pages of the Epstein files that have been made public, emails and records appear that link the millionaire convicted of sexual crimes against minors to Peter Mandelson, one of the most influential politicians in the United Kingdom
The last few days have been a true political earthquake for the British government, which is going through the biggest crisis since Prime Minister Keir Starmer came to power just over a year and a half ago — all because of Jeffrey Epstein.
Among the millions of pages of the Epstein files that have been made public, emails and records appear that link the millionaire convicted of sexual crimes against minors to Peter Mandelson, one of the most influential politicians in the United Kingdom, whom Starmer had appointed ambassador to Washington a year ago.
According to the documents, Mandelson shared confidential information with Epstein when he was in government in 2008: internal reports that detailed the sale of British state assets to stabilize the pound during the financial crisis.
Mandelson resigned as ambassador in September and formally left the British parliament last week.
The prime minister said Mandelson “betrayed the nation”. He also admitted that he knew about the friendship between the former ambassador and Epstein when he appointed him to the position, but says that Mandelson did not tell him the whole story.
Despite this, over the weekend, Starmer’s inner circle began to fall apart – first with the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, and then with the director of communications, Tim Allen, leaving his role.
But despite calls from within his own party for Starmer to resign — including from the Scottish Labor leader — the government has rallied around the prime minister, who says he has “won every battle he has ever fought” and is not prepared to step down.
But for many, especially the prime minister’s critics, being in office and being in power are two different things.
A political and real earthquake
With the royal family, the story has equally seismic proportions.
The same documents from the Epstein files suggest that the former Prince Andrew — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as he came to be known after his brother, King Charles III, stripped him of his titles — also shared official British documents with Epstein.
The two were friends and, at the time the emails were exchanged in 2010, André was also a kind of ambassador — he was the British government’s special representative for international trade.
Now, the police are formally investigating André.
On Monday, Buckingham Palace issued an unusual statement, saying that King Charles “has demonstrated, through unprecedented words and actions” his “deep concern” at the allegations, and that the monarch is willing to cooperate with authorities if requested.
André, remember, was forced last week to leave a Crown residence in Windsor where he had lived for more than twenty years.
The Prince of Wales, heir to the throne and nephew of Andrew, also spoke about the matter for the first time on his way to Saudi Arabia for an official visit, with a representative from Kensington Palace saying that William and Kate are “deeply alarmed” by the revelations that continue to emerge.
