United News of Bangladesh

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said the scandal involving Peter Mandelson is a serious challenge for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, though he described Starmer as a man of integrity who was betrayed by his former ally. Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, Brown said Starmer may have been too slow to act after allegations emerged that Mandelson passed sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, he said Starmer remained the right leader to reform Britain’s political system and restore trust. Brown’s comments came as London’s Metropolitan Police concluded searches of two properties linked to Mandelson as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office. Mandelson, a former business secretary and later UK ambassador to the United States, has denied any criminal wrongdoing and says he was not motivated by financial gain. Brown said the situation was serious and warned that failure to address corruption and unethical conduct would carry heavy political costs. He added that Starmer now needed to act decisively and should be judged by his actions in the coming months. Email exchanges released in the latest batch of Epstein-related documents suggest Mandelson shared internal government information with Epstein. This included details about the UK’s struggling economy, a memo discussing the sale of government assets and advance notice of a major European Union bailout during the eurozone crisis. The emails also show Mandelson giving frequent political updates to Epstein in the days after Labour lost power in the 2010 general election. Brown said he felt shocked and betrayed by the disclosures, arguing that Mandelson’s actions may have put Britain’s economy and currency at risk. He said speculative trading could have been triggered by the leaked information, causing serious commercial damage. He also said the emails suggested Mandelson was planning his post-government career while still serving as business secretary during the global financial crisis, describing this as a betrayal of his colleagues and the country. Brown called on Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who also appears in the Epstein files, to cooperate fully with authorities investigating Epstein’s crimes. He said the case exposed a global network of powerful individuals who believed they were above the law. The former prime minister renewed his call for sweeping political reforms, including the creation of an anti-corruption commission with powers to seize assets. He also urged the government to implement tougher vetting for senior appointments, introduce public confirmation hearings and strengthen oversight of ethics in public life. On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said searches had been carried out at addresses in Wiltshire and north London as part of an ongoing investigation involving a 72-year-old man. No arrest has been made and inquiries are continuing.   With inputs from BBC

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday apologised to victims of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein after acknowledging that he appointed Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the United States despite Mandelson’s close ties to Epstein. Starmer said Mandelson had downplayed his relationship with Epstein, presenting him as someone he barely knew. Speaking publicly, the prime minister said he was sorry for having accepted those assurances and for making the appointment on that basis. Mandelson was dismissed from the ambassadorial post in September after emails emerged showing that he had maintained contact with Epstein even after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offences involving a minor. Epstein later died in a US jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges alleging he sexually abused dozens of girls. Starmer said he had never met Epstein and is not accused of any wrongdoing, but he has faced mounting pressure since new documents shed further light on Mandelson’s relationship with the financier. He said he had been misled about the nature of those ties. While it had long been publicly known that Mandelson and Epstein were acquainted, Starmer said the extent and seriousness of their relationship were not previously understood. British police are now investigating Mandelson over possible misconduct in public office, though he has not been accused of any sexual offences. Recently released documents by the US Department of Justice include material suggesting Mandelson shared sensitive government information with Epstein following the 2008 global financial crisis. The files also contain numerous informal and friendly messages indicating a far closer relationship than Mandelson had earlier acknowledged. The documents further suggest that between 2003 and 2004, Epstein made three payments totalling $75,000 to accounts linked to Mandelson or to his partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, who is now his husband. Mandelson, 72, has been a prominent and controversial figure in the Labour Party since the 1990s. He previously resigned twice from senior government roles amid controversies related to money and ethics. He was selected as ambassador to Washington due to his experience in trade, extensive international contacts and reputation as a skilled political operator, qualities seen as useful in dealing with the administration of President Donald Trump. However, critics argue that Mandelson’s links to Epstein made the appointment a serious misjudgment. Labour lawmaker Paula Barker said the episode raised concerns about the prime minister’s judgement and warned that rebuilding trust with the public and within the party would take significant effort.