Release the files - on Mandelson, Starmer and McSweeney

Sunlight is the only disinfectant to the corruption that's been revealed this week. That's why we're fighting for transparency

What a week. The Epstein files have starkly revealed the depth of the black hole where the moral centre of our politics should be.

We now know that Peter Mandelson, as business secretary under Gordon Brown, was willing to sell out the government he served for Jeffrey Epstein.

He took a convicted paedophile’s money and even advised Epstein to “mildly threaten” his own Labour colleagues in the interests of JP Morgan.

All of this happened after Epstein had been convicted of child sexual abuse.

The new disclosures - which I’d encourage you to look through if you haven’t already - lay bare a world of unbridled political power, inherited power and media power. It is the very definition of a corrupt elite. No wonder people are losing trust in politics.

The revelations have rocked Westminster. But, as I said on this week’s episode of the Prospect Magazine podcast (can sign up here), the only reason we know any of this is because Epstein - a serial abuser - became entangled in the MAGA movement’s narrative. Trump, in the end, had little choice but to “release the files” (after having them redacted).

What we still aren’t asking is how similar networks of influence are operating elsewhere today - in an era of disappearing messages, private channels and off-the-books lobbying that make this kind of exposure far harder.

Speaking to Prospect, I argued that the Epstein story goes to the heart of the British establishment - and that the documents disclosed once again show how London law firms are used by the rich and powerful to silence the rest of us.

But all of this is enabled by a culture of secrecy that runs from the very top of the British state downwards.

As I write this, Keir Starmer is fighting a rearguard action to prevent the full disclosure of documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the US.

This is not the only transparency battle being fought over Mandelson’s appointment.

Since last February, Democracy for Sale has been trying to obtain a full copy of Mandelson’s declaration of interests at the point he was given the Washington job.

We were concerned in particular about Mandelson’s role at Global Counsel, the lobbying firm he set up. Months before his appointment, we revealed that Global Counsel had secretly been working for the Qatari state.

Even after he became ambassador, Mandelson appeared still to hold shares in Global Counsel - including at a time when he brought Starmer to visit the offices of Palantir, a Global Counsel client, during an official visit to Donald Trump.

So we asked the Foreign Office for a copy of Mandelson’s declaration of interests and, crucially, for the internal due-diligence emails that would show whether - and how - the department had assessed any conflicts.

Under the law, the government had 20 working days to reply. It took four months. When officials finally responded, they refused the request in full.

Disclosure would “prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs,” the Foreign Office claimed.

This is nonsense. MPs and ministers declare their interests all the time. So we appealed. After pledging to review the case within a month, the government dragged its feet again - before doubling down on its refusal in November, eight months after we filed the request.

Last month, Democracy for Sale complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The regulator is now investigating whether the government’s handling of our request was lawful, and whether Mandelson’s declaration of interests and the department’s due diligence should be disclosed.

It is time for the government to release everything it holds about Mandelson’s appointment - including his private interests.

We shouldn’t have to fight this hard for basic transparency. But if the Epstein files show us anything, it’s that without relentless pressure and far more sunlight, the truth will never come out on its own.