I’m appalled at how easily powerful men shrug off what Epstein did because it suits them

Too many hollow exclamations of care... On that, at least, we can all agree. With his press-conference apology for having appointed “liar” Peter Mandelson as the ambassador to the US, Keir Starmer has joined a long line of powerful men who put other considerations before the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

“Sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you, sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him. I’m sorry that even now, you’re forced to watch this story unfold in public once again,” he said. Note the wriggle-out – “having believed Mandelson’s lies”.

And this from the former director of public prosecutions: Starmer’s career before politics was spent unearthing lies. In Mandelson’s case, however, the PM ignored the truth hovering in plain sight, and removed an exceptional female ambassador, Karen Pierce, for no obvious reason other than to reward one of his own.

Starmer’s defence of his part in the Epstein/Mandelson affair was a weak mix of claimed ignorance and realpolitik: that the public benefit to the UK from a strong relationship with the US president trumped Mandelson’s past, Epstein’s crimes, and the rights of Epstein’s victims. Except none of it stacks up: there was a great ambassador in place, and Maga leaders had openly repudiated Mandelson.

He was a major risk. He was hired by an influential cabal of male power inside No 10 – and, amid talk of whether Starmer must now resign, they are all still there.

The world operates on hundreds of these male circles of influence. This is where the real balance of power lies. The emails released by the Department of Justice (DoJ) demonstrate powerful men clubbing together to protect their own. They frequently behave with breathtaking misogyny, hiding their sneering behind a veneer of public propriety, as they pursue more influence, power, and money.

In July 2024, fully six months before Mandelson was made ambassador, a Florida judge, Luis Delgado, released all 150 pages of the graphic transcripts of Epstein’s grand jury trial in 2006, which saw him sentenced to 13 months in prison. Those transcripts reveal how girls were taken as many as three times a day to Epstein’s mansion, where he would offer them extra money during the massages to use a vibrator on them while he masturbated.

Nearly 30 young girls gave evidence to the police and FBI of being raped and abused by Epstein in his Palm Beach mansion during the early 2000s. The majority were underage. In one deposition, a victim recalled how her head was “held against the table forcibly as he continued to pump inside her”.

“The details in the record will be outrageous to decent people,” Delgado stated. “The testimony taken by the grand jury concerns activity ranging from grossly unacceptable to rape – all of the conduct at issue is sexually deviant, disgusting, and criminal.”

Did Starmer’s battle-hardened chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, read the victims’ publicly available depositions before the decision was made on Mandelson? Did he, hell.

It would have been the easiest of research jobs for the civil servants preparing the report on whether Mandelson was a suitable choice for ambassador. It took me a few moments of googling Florida newspapers and revisiting the Miami Herald’s exceptional 2018 investigations into Epstein to find myself sunk in the hideous details.

We can all accept that our prime minister would not have known the exact nature of the emails that crossed between the two. But everyone certainly knew the depths of the American financier’s depravity. In 2023, the Financial Times detailed how Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein had endured long after the latter’s 2008 conviction.

Looking through Epstein’s correspondence released by the DoJ, the misogyny – the hatred of women – is clear. A particularly grim exchange shows Mandelson and Epstein talking about how Epstein would celebrate his release from prison. Epstein replied to Mandelson’s question, “How is freedom feeling?”, with: “She feels fresh, firm and creamy.” Mandelson responded: “Naughty Boy.”

Remember Starmer’s election promise to eradicate violence against women within 10 years? Guess that’s on hold.

Breaking open cabals of male power – infiltrating them to the extent that such behaviour is no longer common or tolerated – is the only real solution to stopping the endless tide of sexual abuse. And, at root, this means more financial heft for women. Right now, just eight CEOs on the FTSE 100 are women. Let me put it another way: how many women do you know who parade on their superyachts with young men in tiny briefs catering to their every whim?

Who have been the strong voices in the Epstein case? Women – that is, the victims, and the women who have rallied to help the victims. Melinda Gates, one of the world’s richest women, this week refused to let her former husband Bill Gates off the hook, saying: “The Epstein files made me so happy to be away from that muck.”

Tina Brown, the former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair and a wealthy female powerhouse in her own right, also stood firm against Epstein. She recalls a publicist trying to get her to attend a dinner at Epstein’s house after his 2008 conviction, to which she responded: “What the hell is this – the Predators’ Ball?”

Back in 2020, I watched a friend on stage with Mandelson. It was witty and informative, and oh so cosy as they paid each other compliments. I messaged “Well done” later that day, to which the friend effusively replied. Then, I sent them a picture of Mandelson with Epstein. Silence.

Perhaps at base, men simply cannot imagine being a woman, cannot imagine being raped, and so the victims do not stay long in their minds. Nor have they experienced the tidal wave of unwanted male filth that comes at women from our early teens.

What the Epstein horror has taught us is that we need more women to have not just a voice that cuts through in the public sphere, but also the sort of financial power that affords protection. Not every man is a sex pest or a paedophile – but too many will excuse those who are too easily.

Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)