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What did Starmer already know about Mandelson and Epstein?

·38 min·3 clips

Peter Mandelson stayed at Jeffrey Epstein's $70 million mansion while the financier was in prison for soliciting a 14-year-old.

This episode examines the financial and political relationship between former Labour minister Peter Mandelson and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Host Tom McTague interviews Financial Times deputy political editor Jim Pickard, who has reported on this story for years. Pickard details his long-term investigation into emails and payments linking Mandelson to Epstein, even while Epstein was imprisoned. The FT obtained an internal JP Morgan report in 2023 showing emails between Mandelson, Epstein, and banker Jess Staley. These revealed Mandelson stayed at Epstein's $70 million Manhattan mansion in 2009 while Epstein was in prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Pickard recounts asking Keir Starmer about this in January 2024, to which Starmer replied the journalist knew more than he did. New U.S. Department of Justice files released recently showed three direct payments of $25,000 from Epstein to Mandelson in 2003-2004. Further documents indicated payments from Epstein to Mandelson's partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, totaling potentially over £100,000. Pickard describes the second major element as Mandelson sharing privileged government information with Epstein while serving as Business Secretary. This included details on policies to curb banker bonuses after the 2008 crisis and the UK's position on a €500 billion Eurozone bailout. Mandelson was also briefed by Epstein to lobby U.S. officials against the post-crisis Volcker Rule reforms. Pickard notes the police have opened an investigation into potential misconduct in public office, which carries a possible life sentence. One surprising claim is Pickard's assessment that this scandal is potentially worse than the 1960s Profumo affair, calling it the biggest UK political scandal of his lifetime. He expresses shock at how the revelations are now "lapping at Starmer's feet," given Mandelson's role as a strategic advisor to the Labour leader. A memorable moment Pickard cites is Starmer, after a pro-immigration conference speech, turning to his wife and saying, "That's who I really am." The tone is a detailed, insider conversation between two political journalists dissecting a complex, breaking news story. The style is investigative and explanatory, walking through document discoveries and timeline while analyzing political ramifications. Listeners interested in deep-dive UK political scandals, media reporting processes, and Labour Party internal dynamics would find this compelling. Those seeking lighter commentary or who are unfamiliar with the key figures may find the granular financial and political details challenging.

As heard by us

A clear look at how a long paper trail turns into a live political problem.

The episode does a clean job of turning the Mandelson-Epstein story into a practical account of how reporting and newly confirmed details can collide.

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Why you'd press play

You want the Mandelson-Epstein story explained without the usual Westminster fog.

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