Just when Keir Starmer thought he had put the Jeffrey Epstein scandal behind him, US President Donald Trump is arriving in the UK for a state visit. The prime minister faces a difficult week as his government struggles with multiple resignations and controversies.
Starmer has lost his deputy and housing secretary over unpaid stamp duty, his US ambassador over close ties to a known child sex trafficker, and his director of political strategy for telling offensive jokes about Diane Abbott. Meanwhile, calls grow for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to take over, though the parliamentary seat in question only became available after the previous Labour MP was suspended for sending abusive messages.
The Epstein scandal has resurfaced after Peter Mandelson’s emails to the convicted sex offender were made public. In a 2008 email, Mandelson wrote: “It just could not happen in Britain.” Critics argue that Britain has a history of institutionalised looking away, and that Starmer is now at the centre of it, having appointed Mandelson despite his known association with Epstein.
Starmer spent years in opposition condemning Tory behaviour, but now faces daily criticism as his own government’s failings mount. The Epstein affair raises uncomfortable questions about how the financier operated for so long without detection, with many in the financial world expressing puzzlement over how he made his fortune.
