London, United Kingdom – In the United Kingdom, pressure is mounting for Peter Mandelson, former Labor minister, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, former Crown Prince, to be investigated and held accountable for new revelations linking them to sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who appointed Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite previously knowing his closeness to Epstein, apologizes and is reeling amid calls for his resignation. How entrenched was the pedophile in the British high class? Analysis from London.

First modification: 02/06/2026 - 17:58 Last modification: 02/06/2026 - 17:59

Both in the corridors of the British Parliament and in the Labor ranks, the question is how many months Keir Starmer has left as prime minister.

This after he admitted that, despite knowing about the controversial friendship between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein, he appointed him ambassador to Washington, the most important position in diplomacy, in December 2024.

Critics are calling for 'heads to roll' in what is seen as one of the most serious political scandals in the United Kingdom in decades.

Although Starmer defended himself by arguing that Mandelson “lied to everyone” and apologized to Epstein's victims, the fury continues to grow.

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"Peter Mandelson was called the 'prince of darkness'. It's no secret that he was a bad person. Why did Mandelson come to the room to be considered for this ambassadorship when so much was known about his bad behavior?" asked Harriet Harman, a prominent Labor figure.

It is the same question that deputies from all parties and citizens alike ask, demanding the political responsibility of Keir Starmer and his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, another controversial figure whom they hold responsible for 'reviving' Mandelson, despite his opaque past with two dismissals on his resume in previous Labor governments.

The first in 1998, for a secret loan from one of his colleagues for $500,000 and the second, in 2001, for pressuring the delivery of a British passport to one of the Hinduja brothers, owners of the Indian business conglomerate of the same surname.

And, trying to calm the waters, the prime minister promised to publish “as soon as possible” the confidential documents that led to Mandelson's appointment in Washington in 2024 and dismissal seven months later, in September 2025, after the publication of the first emails and photos.

These would show a deep friendship, complicity, exchange of favors and financial gifts for both Mandelson and his partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva.

Read alsoEpstein case shakes the British Government: Starmer apologizes to victims for Mandelson's previous appointment

They want to establish how much Starmer and his main advisors knew, who will also have to publish all the electronic communications they exchanged with the former diplomat, including personal WhatsApp messages.

However, Scotland Yard asked Downing Street not to reveal the documents that could become evidence against the former ambassador in the investigation being carried out by the Police for "alleged misconduct in public office."

Peter Mandelson, 'prince of darkness'

At the time, the Government justified the appointment because Mandelson was the right person to manage the relationship with Donald Trump, his second government full of uncertainty, and to guarantee the elusive bilateral trade agreement.

One of the points in favor of the former ambassador was his experience as British trade secretary, a position he held between 2009 and 2010.

Precisely, under that role, Mandelson would have delivered confidential information to Epstein that would have benefited him financially, making him richer and more powerful.

Mandelson has denied having acted illegally and claims that Epstein had hidden his criminal profile from him.

However, police are investigating whether he provided Epstein with government documents on at least four occasions.

From the files revealed by the United States Department of Justice, it is known that he also pressured Gordon Brown's government to change the bonuses that bankers receive.

And he also pressured former President Barack Obama's top economic advisor, Larry Summers, to “relax proposed restrictions on the business activities of U.S. banks,” according to an email exchange in March 2010.

Both Keir Starmer and his health secretary, Wes Streeting, described these revelations as “betrayal”.

Although he knew of this past, the Government continued with his appointment even though it apparently knew that the former ambassador maintained his friendship with Epstein after he paid a sentence for child abuse and even stayed in his mansion in Manhattan while he was paying that sentence.

“The prime minister decided to inject Mandelson's poison into the heart of his government,” highlighted the conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, who asked the Labor rebels to move from words to actions to force Starmer's departure.

This new chapter cost Mandelson his life position in the House of Lords and being removed from the exclusive circle of the Privy Council that advises King Charles III.

Read alsoThe fall of Mandelson due to the Epstein case: he resigns from the House of Lords and is under investigation

Andrew, the former prince on his knees

The revelations are becoming more scandalous every day regarding the link that whoever was until October 2025, the Duke of York, also had with Epstein.

While public pressure grows for him to be investigated by the police, following the 'BBC' revelation that a second foreign woman reported having been sent by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew in 2010, at his Royal Lodge residence, belonging to the Crown, when she was in her 20s.

The victim's lawyer, Brad Edwards, claims that the young woman spent the night at that royal residence and then took a tour of Buckingham Palace and had tea.

The new revelations raise questions about how involved Andrew was with Epstein, how much he knew about the network trafficking women and girls, how much influence the millionaire pedophile had over the king's brother and access to the privileges that a close friend of a member of the royal family has.

"The British monarchy functions both by constitutional power and by symbolic legitimacy, trust and exemplarity. Every time the Epstein case returns to the headlines, Andrew's name reappears and with it the institution. Buckingham's strategy has been to isolate him institutionally to contain the damage, but the reputational effect does not completely disappear," highlights monarchy expert Alexander Seale.

Is the photo with Virginia Giuffre real?

In an email sent by the British Ghislaine Maxwell to Epstein, who was her partner, it is read that "in 2001, I was in London when I met several friends, including Prince Andrew. A photo was taken, as I suppose he wanted to show it to his friends and family."

Maxwell, who is serving a prison sentence, seems to confirm in this way that the photograph in which the young Virginia Giuffre smiles while Prince Andrew hugs her waist and in which she herself smiles, in the back, is true.

In the past, Andrew denied having met and sexually abused Virginia Giuffre, who committed suicide in 2025, and who reported that she was abused by the 'royal' on three occasions in London, New York and his private island in the Caribbean.

Despite the accusations, Andrew and Virginia reached a million-dollar financial agreement in 2022 to end a judicial process in New York.

"It has a very strong media impact, although legally limited. The authenticity of the photo confirms that both coincided and had personal contact, something that for years was denied. Now, an image does not prove a crime, it does not establish context, consent or circumstances. But in terms of public opinion, visual evidence is extremely powerful," says Seale.

In the newly revealed documents, a sequence of photos appears of Andrew Mountbatten on his knees, on the floor, putting his hand on the waist of a woman who is lying on the floor and whose identity has been protected.

Andrew reportedly invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace shortly after the pedophile served his sentence for child abuse in 2010.

Although King Charles III, Andrew's brother, and the royal family try to distance themselves from these accusations, groups like Republic demand a police investigation.

The United Kingdom remains shocked by the revelations of the scope of the pedophile Epstein, but is waiting for actions to clarify them and, if applicable, punish them.

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