PM Keir Starmer and Epstein Crisis (Peter Mandelson)
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom — an individual whose record already includes muted concern over the Pakistani Muslim grooming gang scandal involving mainly native working-class girls, alongside his reluctance to confront first-cousin marriage — has now admitted that he knew about Peter Mandelson’s long-term relationship with Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him US ambassador.
Starmer attempts to deflect responsibility by claiming Mandelson “lied repeatedly to my team, when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador.” Yet this defense collapses under Starmer’s own admission: he knowingly appointed Mandelson despite being aware of his ongoing association with one of the world’s most notorious child sex offenders. This is not a failure of vetting — it is a failure of judgment and conscience.
Once again, Starmer appears detached from the suffering of abused young girls — whether victims of Epstein’s global network or those devastated by grooming gangs across British towns and cities.
The Guardian reports: “Keir Starmer has confirmed for the first time he knew about Peter Mandelson’s longer-term relationship with Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him US ambassador, saying the former peer had ‘lied repeatedly’ about the extent of his contact with the child sex offender.”
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, asked bluntly: “Can the prime minister tell us, did the official security vetting he received mention Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein?”
Starmer replied by confirming that he was fully aware: “Yes, it did. As a result, various questions were put to him.”
This admission renders hollow Starmer’s later claim that Mandelson “lied repeatedly.” Starmer knew of the relationship after Epstein’s crimes were exposed — yet proceeded regardless.
He now says: “I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”
But Starmer did know enough. And he acted anyway.
Worse still, the prime minister now seeks to obstruct full transparency by invoking “national security”to prevent the release of documentation.
Badenoch dismissed this as “a red herring,” stating pointedly: “The national security issue was appointing Mandelson.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey asked whether Starmer had considered Epstein’s victims before handing Mandelson such a powerful role. The BBC reports that Davey questioned whether Starmer “thought at all about Epstein’s victims before giving such an important job to Lord Mandelson.”
However much Starmer now squirms in retrospective regret, the reality is stark: he knowingly elevated a man linked to Epstein into high office. This mirrors his wider pattern of indifference — from grooming gang victims to his unwillingness to confront deeply harmful cultural practices.
The implications are profound.
It remains to be seen what further convulsions will emerge from this crisis — not only within government, but across elite institutions, including the British Royal Family and powerful business networks worldwide.
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