EPSTEIN SCANDAL ROCKS UK POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

By Michael Jarvis, UK Correspondent

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is in a desperate fight to retain his job as the fallout from the American Epstein Files scandal rocks his leadership.

Although not directly implicated in the Epstein saga, Starmer finds himself at the center of controversy over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Ambassador to the United States, despite knowing of the now high-profile ex-ambassador’s close association with Epstein.

Despite sacking Mr Mandelson soon after the Epstein connection emerged, the extent of their friendship only became public with the latest batch of the so-called Epstein files released by US authorities.

British police are now also investigating allegations that Mandelson may have shared sensitive UK trade information with Epstein while he served as Business Secretary during the 2008 global financial crisis.

A clearly infuriated and distressed Mr Starmer is now under pressure from within his own party over his judgement in proceeding Mandelson’s appointment to the influential ambassadorial position.

Facing one of the toughest moments in his tenure during this past week’s weekly Prime Minister’s Questions(PMQs) in the British Parliament’s House of Commons, Mr Starmer repeatedly voiced his regret over the appointment.

He said Mandelson had “betrayed our country, our parliament, and my party”. He accused his former top man in Washington of lying repeatedly about his close ties to the deceased, disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

“All appropriate steps had been followed; had anyone known what we know now, he would never have been anywhere near government,” the Prime Minister said on Wednesday.

Starmer had fired Mandelson last September, when information surfaced showing that the former ambassador had retained close personal ties with Epstein even after the financier’s conviction in 2008 on sex crime charges.

Mandelson, who has also served as UK Business Secretary and European Commissioner for Trade, and was elevated to the UK House of Lords as a life peer, was only in the Washington job for seven months before he was sacked by Starmer.

Just last week, amidst pressure on the Prime Minister to withdraw his Labour Party membership, Mandelson voluntarily stepped down from the party and also avoided the ignominy of being thrown out of the House of Lords by also choosing to give up that position. There was an ongoing discussion over the process to remove the associated title from him, which is subject to complex procedures and traditions.

Meanwhile, the pressure continues on Mr Starmer over what many critics in the Opposition and within his own party question as his poor judgement in appointing Mandelson, with some accusing him of prioritising political pragmatism over personal principles.

It’s being said that despite knowing enough of Mandelson’s connections with Epstein when he appointed him, Starmer persisted with the decision. According to some reports, he was persuaded that Mandelson was the best choice to navigate relations with the notoriously unpredictable American president, Donald Trump.

This latest threat to Prime Minister Starmer’s leadership follows what’s widely seen as him dodging another recent potential internal leadership challenge.