Epstein Document Release Exposes Deep Ties to UK Royals and Political Elite
LONDON — A fresh trove of documents linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent shockwaves through the British establishment, ensnaring royalty, politicians, and diplomats in a sprawling scandal that refuses to fade.
The latest release, which includes hundreds of emails and photographs, paints a disturbing picture of warm, ongoing relationships between Epstein and prominent UK figures long after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor. The fallout is triggering political inquiries, renewed calls for accountability, and painful scrutiny of the elite networks Epstein cultivated.
At the centre of the storm is Peter Mandelson, a former UK ambassador to the United States and a key architect of New Labour. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office confirmed Monday that Mandelson has been referred for an investigation over allegations he passed a confidential government memo to Epstein in 2009 while serving as Business Secretary. Documents also suggest he received payments from Epstein in the early 2000s.
"Lord Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage," a spokesperson for the Prime Minister stated, referring to his seat in the House of Lords. Mandelson, 72, who resigned as ambassador last year over his Epstein links, relinquished his Labour Party membership on Sunday, calling the allegations "false."
The documents also cast a harsh new light on the relationship between Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and Epstein. Emails show effusive gratitude and intimate banter from Ferguson to Epstein, including a 2009 message reading, "Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for"—sent just a year after his conviction. Another, from 2010, concludes with, "I am at your service. Just marry me."
The correspondence discusses party invitations, business ventures, and Ferguson's financial troubles following her divorce from Prince Andrew. In one jarring exchange, she references waiting for her daughter to return from "a shagging weekend." Ferguson later publicly apologized for the relationship in 2011, calling a £15,000 loan from Epstein a "gigantic error of judgement."
For Prince Andrew, the documents fuel existing fires. There are growing demands in the US for him to testify before Congress following a new allegation that a woman was trafficked to Britain for a sexual encounter with him—a claim that comes years after Virginia Giuffre's settled lawsuit. King Charles III has already removed his brother's royal titles and is seeking to evict him from his Windsor home.
The scandal's reach extended to academia on Monday, with Queen's University Belfast removing the name of former US Senator George Mitchell from one of its institutes. Mitchell, who brokered the Northern Ireland peace accord and served as the university's chancellor, is referenced 339 times in the documents. He has expressed regret for the association but denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes.
Voices from the Public:
"This isn't just about bad judgement; it's about a culture of impunity," says David Chen, a political historian from Cambridge. "These emails show how access and money insulated powerful people from basic moral scrutiny, even after Epstein was a known convict."
"The tone of those emails from Sarah Ferguson is breathtakingly inappropriate," remarks Eleanor Vance, a editor at a London media watchdog. "It reveals a deeply troubling normalization of a predator within their social circle."
"It's disgusting. They all knew. The royals, the politicians—they smiled for his cameras and took his money," says Marcus Holt, a retail worker from Manchester, his anger palpable. "And what's changed? Mandelson might lose a title, Andrew might lose a house. It's a slap on the wrist for betraying public trust."
"The university renaming is a necessary symbolic act," adds Priya Sharma, a law student in Belfast. "But it's the least of what should happen. We need full transparency and legal consequences, not just reputational damage control."