Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Britain’s former prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and a former UK ambassador to Washington were thrust back into the eye of the Jeffrey Epstein storm, as shocking emails with the late sex offender rocked political and royal circles, reported AFP.
The cache of documents included multiple emails between notable UK figures and Epstein, often revealing warm relations, illicit financial dealings and private photos.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson has said that Peter Mandelson, the UK’s former ambassador to the United States, should be stripped of his membership of the House of Lords. Minister Darren Jones said Mandelson “must account for his actions and conduct”.
Starmer has ordered an inquiry into Mandelson’s contacts with Epstein, after allegations that he passed a confidential Government memo to the disgraced financier. According to BBC, two properties linked to Mandelson in Wiltshire and north London have been searched following allegations of misconduct in public office, the Metropolitan Police has said.
Mandelson, 72, who was sacked as ambassador to the US last year over his ties to Epstein, also allegedly received several payments from Epstein in the early 2000s, according to documents.
One exchange appears to show Mandelson sending a sensitive economic briefing meant for then-prime minister Gordon Brown to Epstein in 2009, when he was Brown’s business secretary. Mandelson has meanwhile given up his decades-long membership of the Labour Party. He also maintained the allegations were “false”.
Lawmaker Stephen Flynn, leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) in parliament, said he had written to the commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police calling Mandelson to be investigated for potential misconduct in public office. Charles has already stripped Andrew of all his titles and ordered that he quit Royal Lodge, his home of two decades on the Windsor estate west of London.
