At the time, most of the mainstream media were in raptures over the decision – praising Mandelson as shrewd, cunning and just the right man to look out for Britain’s interests in Washington. The London press pack operates on a herd mentality: though individual journalists tried to question Mandelson on his well-documented links to Epstein, their colleagues didn’t join the chase. Ultimately, the buddy-buddy relationship between one of the most powerful men in the Labour party, and a highly-networked paedophile financier, was consigned to the pile marked ‘stuff that doesn’t really matter’.

Now, obviously, the climate is very different. Just as Mandelson blamed the deceased Epstein for pulling the wool over his eyes, Starmer casts himself as a victim of Mandelson’s lies. The PM claimed yesterday that the (now former) Labour peer misled him over just how close he was with Epstein, and about staying at Epstein’s apartment while he was in jail.

The trouble for Starmer is that in 2023 – before Mandelson was appointed as ambassador to the US – courtesy of an internal JP Morgan memo, it was reported that then-business secretary Mandelson stayed at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse when Epstein was imprisoned for soliciting a minor.

The memo described repeated meetings and portrayed Mandelson as one of Epstein’s closest political contacts. Was Starmer a victim of manipulation? Or did he just ignore relevant information until it was no longer convenient to do so?

We all know the real reason why Mandelson was appointed US ambassador. The once Prince of Darkness was mentor to Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, and according to one journalist, it was McSweeney who advised the PM to “ignore concerns, and pr