Peter Mandelson declines to apologise for association with Jeffrey Epstein
Peter Mandelson has declined to apologise to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for staying friends with the convicted child sex offender, and suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the financier’s sex life.The Labour peer, who was sacked as US ambassador when details of his support for Epstein emerged in September, gave an interview to the BBC on Sunday, saying he had paid a “calamitous” price for his association with the “evil monster”.Lord Mandelson’s association with Epstein had long been known when Keir Starmer appointed the peer as US ambassador.However, he was removed from his diplomatic post after No 10 said it had been unaware of emails from Mandelson to Epstein suggesting the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a child for prostitution was wrongful and should be challenged.Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 and served time in jail but Mandelson said he had believed his excuses and continued to support him out of “misplaced loyalty” and “a most terrible mistake on my part”.
In his interview with BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the peer sought to distance himself from Epstein, saying he was “at the edge of this man’s life”, despite “toe-curlingly embarrassing” emails showing his support and a birthday message describing him as a best pal.After the interview, Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, said she thought Mandelson should have apologised, adding: “I think what we saw was at best deep naivety.” The Labour peer Ayesha Hazarika said she was “disappointed with the BBC” for the interview, which she described as a “slap in the face to Epstein victims”.The interview was Mandelson’s first broadcast appearance since being sacked from his diplomatic role in Washington in September last year.He said: “I never saw anything in his life when I was with him, when I was in his homes, that would give me any reason to suspect what this evil monster was doing in preying on these young women.
”He added: “I think the issue is that because I was a gay man in his circle, I was kept separate from what he was doing in the sexual side of his life.”Asked whether he wanted to apologise, Mandelson said: “I want to apologise to those women for a system that refused to hear their voices and did not give them the protection they were entitled to expect.”Pressed on whether he would apologise for his friendship with Epstein after his conviction, the peer and former business secretary said: “If I had known, if I was in any way complicit or culpable, of course I would apologise … but I was not culpable, I was not knowledgeable for what he was doing, and I regret, and will regret to my dying day, the fact that powerless women were not given the protection they were entitled to expect.”Asked if he deserved to be sacked, he said: “I understand why I was sacked.” He added: “I understand why [Starmer] took the decision he did.
But one thing I’m very clear about is I’m not going to seek to reopen or relitigate this issue.I’m moving on.”In one of the emails released in September, Mandelson wrote to Epstein after his conviction saying: “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.I can still barely understand it.It just could not happen in Britain.
You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.”It continued: “Everything can be turned into an opportunity and that you will come through it and be stronger for it.”The friendship between the two men came under a renewed spotlight after Democratic members of the US house oversight committee released Epstein’s 50th “birthday book”, in which Mandelson called him “my best pal” in a handwritten note.
Coal power generation falls in China and India for first time since 1970s
Coal power generation fell in China and India for the first time since the 1970s last year, in a “historic” moment that could bring a decline in global emissions, according to analysis.The simultaneous fall in coal-powered electricity in the world’s biggest coal-consuming countries had not happened since 1973, according to analysts at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, and was driven by a record roll-out of clean energy projects.The research, commissioned by the climate news website Carbon Brief, found that electricity generated by coal plants fell by 1.6% in China and by 3% in India last year, after the boom in clean energy across both countries was more than enough to meet their rising demand for energy.“The drop in coal power and record increase in clean energy in China and India marks a historic moment,” according to the report, which could be “a sign of things to come”
Why is Trump’s justice department investigating Fed chair Jerome Powell?
The US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, as Donald Trump’s White House escalates its campaign against the central bank’s independence.In a video posted on Sunday, a typically reticent Powell took the extraordinary step of denouncing the investigation as punishment for not setting interest rates in accordance with the US president’s wishes.This is just the latest development in a long string of White House attacks against the Fed. Here’s what we know about what’s going on.As chair of the Fed, Powell has been the public face of the central bank since 2018
Malaysia blocks Elon Musk’s Grok AI over fake, sexualised images
Malaysia has become the second country to temporarily block access to Elon Musk’s Grok after a global outcry over the AI tool and its ability to produce fake, sexualised images.Malaysia said it would restrict access to Grok until effective safeguards were implemented, a day after similar action was taken by Indonesia.Several governments and regulators have taken action over Grok’s image tool, which is embedded in the X social media site and has provoked outrage as it allows users to manipulate images of women and children to remove their clothing and put them in sexual positions.The Musk-led company that developed Grok, xAI, said last week the ability to generate and edit images would be “limited to paying subscribers” on X. Such users have provided personal details to the company and can be identified if the function is misused
UK threatens action against X over sexualised AI images of women and children
Elon Musk’s X “is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online”, a minister has said, as the UK government prepares to outline possible action against the platform over the mass production of sexualised images of woman and children.Peter Kyle, the business secretary, said the government would fully support any action taken by Ofcom, the media regulator, against X – including the possibility that the platform could be blocked in the UK.Kyle said Ofcom had received information it had requested from X as part of a fast-tracked investigation into the use of platform’s built-in AI tool, Grok, to generate large numbers of manipulated images of people, often depicting them in minimal clothing or sexualised poses.The technology secretary, Liz Kendall, who said on Friday that she expected action from Ofcom within days, is due to give a statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon.Kyle told Sky News: “Let me be really clear about X: X is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online
Mark Allen advances in Masters despite battle with food poisoning
Mark Allen shrugged off a bout of food poisoning to beat Mark Williams 6-2, winning five successive frames, and book a Masters quarter-final with Judd Trump or Ding Junhui, who play on Wednesday.Speaking to the BBC, Allen, the 2018 champion, said: “I prepare properly for these events, but I couldn’t prepare for this at all as I’ve been lying in bed all week with food poisoning. I just thought: ‘Go out there and give my best.’ I wouldn’t have had much left if it had got much closer.”Zhao Xintong stepped up his quest to complete snooker’s triple crown after breezing into the quarter-finals
Swiss resort Crans-Montana, scene of fatal bar fire, will be an Olympic venue in 2038
The Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, which was the scene of a fatal bar fire on New Year’s Day, is set to host the Alpine ski races at the 2038 Olympics.Less than a fortnight after the blaze at Le Constellation that killed 40 and injured 116 other people, officials for the bid have said that the municipality is a key site in their proposals for the Games in 12 years’ time.Switzerland has been granted privileged status by the International Olympic Committee, which means no other country will be allowed to bid while it finalises its proposal. Barring an unexpected development, therefore, it will host the 2038 Games.On Monday organisers confirmed that Crans-Montana would stage events as part of its plan to host competitions across the country in 12 years’ time in order to avoid taxpayer spending on construction
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