Peter Mandelson was in contact with Epstein till at least 2016, new emails reveal

A picture


Peter Mandelson, who was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington over his association with Jeffrey Epstein, was in contact with the pedophile financier as late as 2016, new emails have revealed.Mandelson was sacked in September over leaked emails in which he expressed his support for Epstein and urged him to “fight for early release” in 2008 while the disgraced financier was facing charges of soliciting sex from minors.The tranche of emails revealed the pair had maintained contact until 2010.But new emails released by the House oversight committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the US government’s handling of the Epstein case, has revealed the pair were still in contact six years later.The documents contain an email from Epstein to Mandelson on 6 November 2016 which said: “63 years old.

You made it,” in an apparent reference to Mandelson’s birthday two weeks earlier.The former ambassador replied less than 30 minutes later, saying “Just.I have decided to extend my life by spending more of it in the US.”Epstein responded: “In the Donald white house,” in a reference to Donald Trump, who was elected president two days later.Mandelson said: “What’s the Donald white house? And how are you?” to which Epstein replied: “Trump / and having a great deal of fun.

In hindsight.you were right about staying away from Andrew.I was right in your staying with rinaldo (SIC),” in what is thought to be a reference to Mandelson’s now husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva.In September, Mandelson said he continued “to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims”, according to a letter he sent to staff at the British embassy in Washington, which was reported by the BBC.But the new emails show his association with Epstein continued much later.

While Mandelson’s ties to Epstein were known when he was appointed ambassador, the emails released in September provoked a crisis in Britain’s Labour government.Keir Starmer became the focus of criticism over his decision to appoint Mandelson in spite of warnings about his checquered past.Mandelson was sacked a day after the British prime minister told MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions on 10 September that he retained confidence in him, despite concerns over his association with Epstein.The UK foreign office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs in September that Mandelson had not disclosed the extent and depth of his friendship with Epstein.But it was claimed last week that Starmer received a cabinet office report that contained “a summary of reputational risks” associated with appointing Mandelson, including his “prior relationship with Jeffrey Epstein” and past resignations as a Labour minister.

MPs have pressed the cabinet office to release the information available to Starmer when he told the House of Commons he had confidence in Mandelson ahead of his sacking.The Guardian has approached Mandelson for comment.
A picture

‘I’m now a one-issue voter’: US shoppers fear Italian pasta tariff will cause shortage

On Monday night, Kelly planned to make dinner and spend the night inside with her family. Instead, she told her husband to put the kids to bed so she could get in the car, drive to Wegmans and “panic buy” $100 worth of Rummo pasta.Kelly, a 42-year-old product manager who lives outside Philadelphia, has celiac disease, which means that eating gluten triggers an immune response that leads to digestive issues. She saw fellow gluten-free people on Reddit and TikTok freaking out over the fact that the US is mulling a 107% tariff on Italian pasta imports. According to the Wall Street Journal, the hike could lead to those companies withdrawing from the US market as early as January

A picture

Jimi Famurewa’s recipe for puff-puff pancakes

Efteling is a fairytale-themed, 73-year-old amusement park in the south of the Netherlands that, after two consecutive years of visits, has become an acute obsession among my family. We love the vaguely folk-horror animatronic trees, witches and giant sea monsters lurking within a labyrinthine real forest. We love the anthropomorphised talking bins that plead (in a haunting, perpetual sing-song) for crumpled pieces of paper to be shoved into their suction-powered mouths. We love the inventive rides that, variously, judder along rattling wooden tracks, plunge cursed pirate ships into water, or nudge gondolas serenely through sylvan scenes of bum-flashing goblins showering beneath waterfalls.But our very favourite thing about the place might well be the poffertjes stand, a perennially busy kiosk where exhausted families gather for dinky paper boats filled with these yeast-puffed and sugar-dusted miniature buckwheat pancakes that are a Dutch institution

A picture

Polpa position: budget tinned tomatoes score well in Choice taste test

Consumer advocacy group Choice has taste-tested 18 brands of chopped and diced tomatoes, finding three cheaper cans outranked many more expensive brands.Four judges ranked tinned tomatoes from Australian supermarkets and retailers, assessing them on flavour, texture, appearance and aroma – with flavour accounting for the biggest percentage of overall scores.Italian brand Mutti’s Polpa Organic chopped tomatoes, costing $2.95 for a 400g tin, was awarded the highest score of 80%. It was the most expensive product tested, described by judge Fiona Mair (who also judges at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show) as having “an earthy fresh tomato aroma, really rich juice and flesh”

A picture

Three plant-based chocolate mousse recipes by Philip Khoury

Mousse au chocolat is one of the most exquisite ways to enjoy chocolate – so here are three recipes that offer it in different textures and levels of chocolate intensity. Each one works beautifully with dark chocolate containing 65-80% cocoa solids. Blends with no specific origin can be further rounded out with one teaspoon of vanilla paste or the seeds from a vanilla bean.Once the mousses have been prepared, they can be frozen and gently defrosted in the refrigerator. Top with chocolate shavings, cocoa nibs or a dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder for texture and contrast

A picture

Don’t pour that olive brine down the drain – it’s a flavour bomb | Waste not

When I taste-tested olives for the food filter column a few months ago, it reminded me that the brine is an ingredient in its own right. This intensely savoury liquid adds umami depth to whatever it touches, and, beyond seasoning soups and stews, it can also be used to make salamoia, the aromatic brine that’s traditionally used to top focaccia and create that perfect salty crust.Pouring olive brine down the sink is like washing pure flavour down the drain. Instead, save it to supercharge your focaccia, creating a beautifully flavoured, salted crust that elevates an ordinary loaf into something extraordinary. While I’m partial to rosemary and olives as toppings, this focaccia delivers heaps of flavour even when kept completely plain and simple

A picture

Jelly’s back! Here are three worth making – and three that should wobble off to the bin

Jelly has a dowdy reputation, but it may well be the perfect food for the Instagram age: when it works, it’s incredibly photogenic, so who cares what it tastes like?There can be no other explanation for recent claims that savoury jellies – the most lurid and off-putting of dishes, reminiscent of the worst culinary efforts of the 1950s – are suddenly fashionable. This resurgence comes, according to the New York Times, “at a time when chefs are feeling pressure to produce viral visuals and molecular gastronomy is old hat”.The notion that jelly is having a moment is actually a perennial threat: this time last year it was reported that supermarket jelly cube sales were rising sharply, while vintage jelly moulds were experiencing a five-fold increase in online sales. And it was 15 years ago that the high-end “jellymongers” Bompas & Parr – known for their elaborate architectural creations – first published their book on the subject.People who are sceptical about jelly are often put off by its origins