Epstein files: UK fallout over Andrew and Mandelson | Global News Podcast

Hello, welcome to the global news. podcast on YouTube where we go behind. the headlines to focus on one story and. why it matters. Today we're considering. the impact on the British royal family. of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly. Prince Andrew and his connection to the. convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. It. comes as more photos emerge from the. Epstein files and a growing. dissatisfaction from members of the. British public. We'll also look at the. impact on Kier Starmer, the British. prime minister, over his controversial.

decision to appoint Peter Mandelen as. the UK's ambassador to the US despite. his friendship with Epstein. Joining us. to discuss all of that is the UK. political correspondent Rob Watson. Rob, let's begin with this story today of. images of Andrew from the Epstein files. scattered on a road of an English. village ahead of a visit by the king and. queen. Is that a sign of the growing. dissatisfaction uh amongst the British. public at large?

>> I think that the the king will be. worried about it as will the palace and. something similar happened on a visit a. few weeks ago. But actually I I think so. far the signs suggest and no doubt. Buckingham Palace gets some relief from. this that the that the that the scandal. over Jeffrey Epstein has sort of largely. left the principal figures in the royal. family. So, one thinks King Charles, Queen Camila, uh, Prince William largely. untouched. And I think what the palace.

will be worried about, the two things. they'll be worried about is number one, calls for King Charles perhaps to put. pressure on his brother Andrew to to. testify in front of Congress because. there have been calls for that. So, in. other words, will the royal family be. somehow uh be drawn into that? And I. guess the other thing that will be. making the royal family profoundly. uncomfortable are the the emails. suggesting that somehow Buckingham. Palace and other royal residences were. sort of used as a as a reward to the to.

M. Jeffrey Epstein and some of some. other of ex Prince Andrew's rich friends. and circle of acquaintance. >> You mentioned royal residences there. I. mean of course we learned earlier this. week that Andrew had had to move house. again. He was living in a pretty. luxurious accommodation known as Royal. Lodge. And that that might give some. people the impression that it was. somehow some little cottage on the. estate of Windsor Castle. It is nothing. of the sort. It is a many roommed.

mansion near Windsor Castle. And and. what we understand is is that uh the. royal family by which I guess we. understand that that King Charles and. his entourage were just utterly fed up. with the way in which uh former Prince. Andrew was being sort of photographed. either on horseback or in his car. looking pretty relaxed at the time of. all this these terrible revelations. because it's important to remember that. that Windsor Castle which is not that. far away from London. Uh its grounds a. lot of its grounds are open to the. public. So, I think it's pretty clear.

that King Charles wanted Andrew as far. away from the public as humanly. possible. So, he's going to live on one. of the king's estates known as. Sandringham, where the hope of uh the. royal family will be that Andrew will be. much much less visible. Well, we'll see. about that. >> Let's turn to UK politics now and the. impact of all this on the Prime Minister. Kier Starmer. um he's facing mounting. pressure after growing revelations about. Peter Mandlesson, the man that he. appointed as US ambassador. What's the.

latest with all that? >> Well, Sakir Stalman, the prime minister. who was already, according to the. opinion polls, they suggest the most. unpopular leader in living memory, very. unpopular within his own governing Labor. Party, is now even more unpopular. I. mean this is just about as bad as it. gets for the prime minister Sakir Stama. who essentially is in the firing line. because he appointed Peter Mandlesson as. ambassador UK ambassador to Washington.

in December of 2024. Now to Kir. Starmmer's defense is look you know when. we asked Peter Mandlesson you know. exactly what was your relationship with. um with Jeffrey Epstein he said oh you. know we we were we were barely. acquainted and and therefore how could I. have known I regret making the. appointment now but the criticism of. secure star is come on you know just any. kind of relationship any friendship that. Peter Mandelson had with Jeffrey Epstein. no matter how deep it was surely surely.

that should have rung alarm bells. So. he's really being questioned about his. judgment. Now here it seems to me is the. big question in British politics. Is. this just you know another nasty bruise. on a politician in Kharma who is already. you know this utterly battered and. bruised or or is it something more. fatal? I mean is this you know is this. the crisis that finally brings his. premiership to a to a premature end? I. mean, I don't know the answer to that.

question, but I think that is the. question. >> Fair to say then that he is fighting for. his political survival. I mean, he's. some his critics would suggest that he. had several opportunities to to do. something about, you know, Peter. Mandlesson and he he hadn't done that up. until now. Perhaps. >> you know when politicians leave office. early in democracies like the UK's. there's only normally two routes to. that, right? I mean, number one is they. resign. They just think that their. position is hopeless or there is some.

kind of rebellion. Now I don't think. Sakir Stalmer shows any sign of. resignation at all. In fact, he he was. giving a pretty feisty speech saying, "Look, yeah, I made a terrible mistake. I should never have appointed Peter. Mandelon. It's all his fault for lying.". But he made this rather kind of. impassioned defense of why he went into. politics, what might be called the. decency defense, saying, you know, he. went into politics late in life and he. went there not for personal gain or to. get enriched. He did it to change the.

country for the better. One thing I. would just throw in there and that is. that no leader certainly as for as long. as I've been reporting on politics has. ever come back from being this. unpopular. But you know, we live in. interesting times, right? But what about. internationally? What does it do for his. reputation? He always appears to be a. popular figure when he when he goes. abroad. Do you think it's it's damaged. that? >> It's certainly true that Sakir Starma's. defenders would say, you know, you could. contrast his success on the.

international stage as they would see it. in managing an incredibly difficult. international portfolio with what would. appear to be, you know, his pretty. hamfisted efforts at achieving success. domestically. at home. I mean, I think. the answer to your question is that the. the peril for for secure star and this. applies to all leaders is that when. you're engaging internationally with. your partners, whether they're sort of. allies or maybe countries that aren't so. friendly towards you, they can sniff.

out, you know, the strength of your. position and the strength of your. position depends on how popular you are. at home. So, you can imagine it, right? If you're a a British prime minister. riding high in the polls, you're seen to. be immensely powerful in your own. country. I think that makes you a. different proposition to negotiate with. Whereas, of course, Britain's Britain's. partners that they're not blind, you. know, they can they can look at the. media, they can read a newspaper, they'll have their diplomats saying, you. know what, uh, when Prime Minister.

Starma comes to visit you, he's a man. with a whole host a whole world of. problems at home. So to to that extent I. think it makes his life more difficult. and you know it's why he's been facing. charges uh from the main opposition uh. party the conservatives and their leader. Kami Benedo. I think the charge that she. made against him was that he'd sort of. you know he he'd kind of wrecked British. diplomacy uh and and made the country an. international embarrassment. So. certainly that's the attack being made. on him that is domestic wos translate.

into a a weakening of Britain's position. on the world stage. And finally, Rob, um, what about Andrew? Where I mean, I know you don't have a. crystal ball there in front of you, but. where might this all end for him? And of. course, we've got to consider that. there's 3 million Epstein files were. released a few days ago. It's taking an. awful long time to go through of all to. go through all those. There's going to. be more revelations to come as well, of. course, we could probably imagine.

Well, I think many of us in the media, well, I just many of us, you know, in. the country and around the world had. thought two or three months ago, well, Andrew's sort of disgrace and downfall. is is surely complete. You know, his. brother, the king, had stripped him of. the title of prince, stripped him of the. title of Duke of York. He wasn't being. sort of paid uh by the the state anymore. for being a member of the royal family. He'd had all of his military titles uh. stripped from him. So he thought well. you know it can't be possible can it for.

anyone to fall any further than this but. I mean in the light of these you know. the files we've had over the last 2. three four five days I mean I think. everyone who's had anything to do with. Jeffrey Epstein whether it's former. Prince Andrew or anybody else must be. utterly quaking in their boots as to. what else might lie around the corner. So yeah, Prince Andrew could always fall. even further. Former Prince Andrew I. should say. Rob, thanks very much for. joining us. That was Rob Watson, our UK. political correspondent. And if you.

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