Epstein Scandal Could Bring Down UK Prime Minister

Unlike many powerful people on both sides of the Atlantic, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer never met Jeffrey Epstein, but an Epstein scandal could still be his undoing. In what Henry Zeffman at the BBC says could be "the beginning of the end" for Starmer, even lawmakers from his own Labour Party are furious about his 2024 decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to the US, despite being aware of Mandelson's links to the sex offender. Starmer fired Mandelson in September over his ties to Epstein. The scandal deepened with the latest file release, which showed that Mandelson apparently shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving in government.

On Thursday, Starmer apologized to Epstein's victims and said Mandelson had "portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew," the AP reports. "I am sorry, sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you," Starmer said. "Sorry for having believed Mandelson's lies and appointed him." Starmer told reporters earlier Thursday that there was a "due diligence exercise" and "security vetting" before Mandelson was appointed ambassador, though critics including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch noted there was a "wealth of evidence" about Mandelson's close ties to Epstein in the public domain when the appointment was made, the Telegraph reports.

In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Starmer answered "Yes" when asked if the vetting process had found that Mandelson's friendship with Epstein continued after Epstein's 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. The government plans to release some files related to the vetting process, though others are being held back due to the police investigation of Mandelson, who has resigned from the House of Lords. Badenoch described Starmer's position as "untenable" on Thursday.

Labour MPs "are more furious than they have ever been during his leadership right now," Zeffman writes at the BBC, though few of them, apart from members long opposed to his leadership, are publicly calling for him to step down. "He is now essentially a boxer on the ropes," said Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, tells the AP. "His administration could fall over tomorrow, or it could stagger on for months or even years," Ford says, but "his authority is seriously shot."