Sir Keir Starmer and his allies always knew the dangers of appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US.In autumn last year, when Downing Street were mulling over who to send to Washington, the Labour peer’s friendship with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – and the fact that it carried on after the billionaire was convicted – was part of the PM’s calculation.”The Epstein stuff in broad terms was definitely known and discussed in detail before his appointment,” said one source.Another insider said that as part of the Foreign Office vetting process Lord Mandelson was “specifically asked about the association with Epstein” and he was “clear about it”.No 10 argued today that the “depth and extent” of that relationship was “materially different” from what was known last year.But back then, pictures of Epstein and Lord Mandelson trying on belts in a clothes shop, and blowing out candles on a birthday cake were in the public domain.News reports before Lord Mandelson’s appointment showed contact between the pair even after Epstein’s conviction for the sexual abuse of underage girls.At the time, we raised these facts in conversations with government officials.The responses demonstrated the conflicted attitude many in Labour clearly felt towards a party grandee they saw as both a masterful political operator and a deeply flawed man.One party insider sighed and spoke of Lord Mandelson’s fascination with power and money.A longtim …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnSir Keir Starmer and his allies always knew the dangers of appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US.In autumn last year, when Downing Street were mulling over who to send to Washington, the Labour peer’s friendship with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – and the fact that it carried on after the billionaire was convicted – was part of the PM’s calculation.”The Epstein stuff in broad terms was definitely known and discussed in detail before his appointment,” said one source.Another insider said that as part of the Foreign Office vetting process Lord Mandelson was “specifically asked about the association with Epstein” and he was “clear about it”.No 10 argued today that the “depth and extent” of that relationship was “materially different” from what was known last year.But back then, pictures of Epstein and Lord Mandelson trying on belts in a clothes shop, and blowing out candles on a birthday cake were in the public domain.News reports before Lord Mandelson’s appointment showed contact between the pair even after Epstein’s conviction for the sexual abuse of underage girls.At the time, we raised these facts in conversations with government officials.The responses demonstrated the conflicted attitude many in Labour clearly felt towards a party grandee they saw as both a masterful political operator and a deeply flawed man.One party insider sighed and spoke of Lord Mandelson’s fascination with power and money.A longtim …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
