The prime minister has said sorry for believing Peter Mandelson’s lies – but the Epstein connection should have been disqualification enough
The prime minister has said sorry for believing Peter Mandelson’s lies – but the Epstein connection should have been disqualification enough
Accused of terrible misjudgment in appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, Sir Keir Starmer says that questions were raised but answered with lies. Mandelson “portrayed Jeffrey Epstein as someone he barely knew” and was sacked as soon as it became clear the relationship had been much closer.
Addressing the scale of the deception on Thursday, the prime minister sounded authentically outraged. Mandelson had failed a “basic test of honesty” and “such deceit is incompatible with public service”. Credulity is not a great defence. Focusing on the lies obscures the extent of what was already known to be true when the fateful appointment was made.
It was not a secret that Mandelson had some kind of friendship with Epstein. Evidence of it was in the public domain. The necessary question that followed was what level of intimacy with a man who had trafficked underage girls for sex might be tolerable in a potential ambassador.
