Minister denounces Mandelson for interview in which he claims outrage about his Epstein links ‘disproportionate’ – UK politics live

2026-02-03 - 10:45

Karin Smyth says Times interview shows complete lack of understanding as Ed Davey calls for a public inquiry This is what Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, told the Today programme this morning about why he wants a public inquiry into Peter Mandelson, and particularly the claims that he leaked government documents to Jeffrey Epstein. I certainly support a police investigation. It looks like crime has been committed, misconduct in public office, which is very serious, it impacts everyone’s lives if someone at the very top of government is betraying our country ... But I think we need to think even more deeply about this. I think the case for a public inquiry into national security, and indeed the British victims of Jeffrey Epstein, has now become a requirement. Epstein was leaked highly market-sensitive information by a minister acting as a mole in Whitehall, leaving our institutions dangerously exposed and posing a grave threat to national security. A full public inquiry with powers to compel witnesses and access messages and emails is essential. Only complete transparency can restore public trust, deliver justice for victims and prevent this level of corruption from ever happening again. Mandleson says he was “naive” in his dealings with Epstein. He says: I don’t know what [Epstein’s] motives were – probably mixed – but he provided guidance to help me navigate out of the world of politics and into the world of commerce and finance. Perhaps he wanted to be a mentor and I was naive in regarding him as a good-faith actor. There was no reason to shun his advice, but I was too trusting. He was always very free and forthright with his views and always presented them as in my best interests. Mandelson denies being drawn to people just because they are rich. Asked if he had a lapse of judgment when it came to rich people, he replies: That is a bit of an occupational hazard for a leading politician or a European commissioner, as I was. I don’t think I am drawn towards rich people so much as rich people have big personalities, a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience to share. I hoover that up, but not because they’re wealthy. It’s because of what they do and what they’ve learnt and the responsibilities they’ve exercised, not the size of their bank accounts. He was a classic sociopath. Outwardly, completely charming and engaging. He was very clever. I remember one of the two dinner parties of his I went to. I sat next to someone in charge of brain research at Harvard. I was sitting opposite the founders of Google. At the other end of the table was Bill Gates. I think I also brushed past Noam Chomsky on a later date, but he wasn’t having much to do with me given that he was a Marxist philosopher and I was a Blairite. Mandelson denies not being frank with No 10 about his relations with Epstein prior to being appointed ambassador to the US – claiming that the emails that triggered his sacking were ones even he did not remember. Downing Street did not know what I had long since forgotten. It was a distant chapter from which I have very little recall and have no access at all to records or a diary,” he says. “I understand being surprised by what they learnt, but quite honestly I too am amazed by some of the conversations I had and areas of my life where I was seeking advice from Epstein. Mandelson says he accepts that it was a mistake for his husband, Reinaldo, to accept £10,000 from Epstein to do an osteopathy course. “In retrospect, it was clearly a lapse in our collective judgment for Reinaldo to accept this offer. At the time it was not a consequential decision,” he says. He says there would be no point in his giving evidence to Congress about Epstein. There is nothing I can tell Congress about Epstein they don’t already know. I had no exposure to the criminal aspects of his life. For so many years the voices of his victims were not heard and now Congress has rightly opened everything up. He says being sacked as ambassador to the US was “felt like being killed without actually dying”. Continue reading...