Thousands of miles from Washington, shock waves from the Justice Department’s release of the latest Jeffrey Epstein files continue to rock British society at its highest echelons, engulfing Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a fresh political crisis and casting a lengthening shadow over the royal family. In their first public remarks since the latest revelations, Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales said they were “deeply concerned.”
The most recent releases appear to offer further evidence of long-running links between the convicted sex offender and two high-profile men in British public life: London’s former ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson, who was dismissed in September over his links to Epstein, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III who was stripped of his titles.
The swirl of repercussions faced by both men — who have largely been forced from public life as a result of the revelations — stands in sharp contrast to the relatively muted fallout so far faced by Epstein’s high-profile associates in the United States.
For Starmer, questions over his judgment in selecting Mandelson for that ambassadorship were threatening on Monday to boil over into a full-fledged political crisis. Over the weekend, Starmer’s top aide, Morgan McSweeney, announced his resignation from government, citing his role in advising Starmer to send Mandelson to Washington. By Monday morning, Tim Allan, the prime minister’s communications director was also gone, citing the need for a reset.
It was not immediately clear whether the resignations would be enough to stem the growing political blowback, with a high-profile figure from Starmer’s party — the leader of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar — on Monday afternoon calling on him to step aside.
Among other previously unseen documents, the latest tranche included an undated photograph of a man who appears to be Mandelson in a T-shirt and underwear alongside an unidentified woman. It also appeared to include correspondence between Epstein and Mandelson from when the latter was in public office.
Mandelson has been a controversial fixture of British political life since the 1980s, when he helped mastermind the Labour Party’s centrist reinvention and paved the way for its return from the political wilderness to power in 1997. He went on to serve in high-profile positions under two Labour prime ministers. He has not been accused of any sexual wrongdoing.
Last week, Mandelson resigned his Labour membership, after the Financial Times reported that the latest documents showed Epstein made payments totaling about $75,000 to accounts linked to Mandelson when he was a lawmaker in the early 2000s. In a public letter to Labour officials, Mandelson acknowledged the “furor” surrounding Epstein and said he needed to investigate the latest allegations for himself.
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“I want to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now,” Mandelson added.
The revelations have prompted police to open an investigation into potential misconduct in public office. Last week, Starmer apologized directly to Epstein’s victims and said Mandelson had repeatedly portrayed Epstein “as someone he barely knew.”
The political fallout came as the British royal family also grappled with its links to Epstein.
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace told reporters Monday: “I can confirm the prince and princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”
Among the previously unseen documents, photographs and email messages to be released last month was an image of a man who appeared to be Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours and positioned over a female individual. The tranche also contained an email from an account labeled “The Duke” and signed “A” to Epstein, suggesting dinner “and lots of privacy” at Buckingham Palace in 2010, a month after Epstein’s house arrest ended.
Mountbatten-Windsor has long denied any wrongdoing, and the latest releases contain no allegations of criminal behavior by him.
In October, Buckingham Palace stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal titles after excerpts were made public from a memoir by Virginia Giuffre, the American who said she was forced to have sexual encounters with him as a teenager.
Last week, a Buckingham Palace official confirmed that Mountbatten-Windsor had relocated out of Royal Lodge, his 30-room longtime residence in Windsor, about three months after the palace announced he would be leaving the property.
