The Epstein case implicates the British government

LondonThe Epstein bomb has erupted with full force in the face of Keir Starmer's Labour government. The publication, last Friday, of more than three million documents from the pedophile A US Department of Justice investigation has revealed that Peter Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords and until last September the British ambassador to Washington, shared confidential government information with the confessed pedophile in 2009. This occurred during his time as Gordon Brown's Minister of Business, and de facto, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The political scandal in the United Kingdom is enormous and the damage to the premier It comes at a time of great political weakness.

Mandelson, one of the most shadowy figures in British politics of the last 45 years, who had also been a minister under Tony Blair and later a European commissioner, announced on Tuesday that he will leave the House of Lords with immediate effect from Wednesday. His resignation, far from exceptional, comes after various parties across the Westminster political spectrum called on Starmer to take immediate legal action and stripped him of his peerage, which he has held since 2008.

Police are examining possible misconduct related to various behaviors. Emails, made public as part of a new batch of documents, show that Mandelson shared critical information about government economic decisions—including the imminent existence of a €500 billion European bailout for the eurozone—with Epstein, who had already been convicted of sex crimes. In other, entirely extraordinary messages, Mandelson allegedly advised Epstein to indirectly pressure the British Chancellor of the Exchequer through JP Morgan executives in the context of the debate over whether to maintain bonuses for the heads of major banks when the entire economic system appeared to be crumbling in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Prior to the publication of the documents, Mandelson had already announced his departure from the Labour Party. However, his resignation from the House of Lords, confirmed this Monday, does not automatically entail the loss of his peerage, which could only be revoked by a specific Act of Parliament. Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated to his cabinet that he will study possible reforms to facilitate the removal of members of the upper house in serious cases. Downing Street insists that the Prime Minister acted as soon as he had "new information," but the opposition plans to bring the case to the forefront of parliamentary debate this week, with possible votes to force the release of more documents relating to Mandelson. The uncertainty surrounding whether further revelations may emerge keeps open a crisis that threatens to further implicate the Labour government and calls into question Starmer himself, who appointed Mandelson ambassador to Washington even after it was known that he had continued to maintain relations with Epstein following his conviction in Florida in 2009.