Depraved revelations have been steadily trickling out of the latest Epstein files, released by the US Department of Justice on Friday.

The tidal wave of documents – comprising more than three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos relating to the late paedophile financier Jeffery Epstein – is the final and six-weeks-late release in compliance with Donald Trump’s Epstein Files Transparency Act.

While there’s plenty of detail to dig into on one side of the pond, with Trump (mentioned more than 1,000 times), Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Steve Bannon and ‘Melania’ director Brett Ratner all cropping up, British elites – from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street – do not emerge unscathed either.

I am, of course, duty bound to ‘do a Sky News’ and state that being mentioned or pictured in the Epstein files doesn’t necessarily indicate wrongdoing.

However, as of Sunday night, the latest drop has resulted in Lord Peter ‘Petey’ Mandelson (aka the Prince of Darkness) resigning from the Labour party.

The New Labour grandee stepped down after bank statements in the files appeared to show payments of £55k from Epstein to accounts connected to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004 (and £10k to Mandelson’s partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva in 2009).

The email exchanges also revealed that Mandelson said he was “trying hard” to change government policy on bankers’ bonuses following requests from Epstein in 2009, which was after the financier’s first conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution.

A wealthy and powerful paedophile exerting his influence on government ministers to let rich people take home more money? The tinfoil hats are surplus to requirements at this stage.

In his late-night resignation, Mandelson wrote to Labour’s general secretary Hollie Ridley that he feels “regretful and sorry” about being linked further to Epstein. “Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me,” he added.

Mandelson went on to say that he’s stepping down as a Labour member to avoid causing “further embarrassment” to the party. Embarrassment might be too milquetoast a word, considering he also showed up in the Epstein files wearing some displeasingly small underwear in a photo with a young woman. Her face is redacted.

But spare a thought too for Keir Starmer, whose judgement is once again in question, as he appointed Mandelson to the plum job of UK ambassador to the US when it was public knowledge that he had kept in contact with Epstein after the latter’s child sex offence conviction.

Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney was also keen on hiring Mandelson – his former mentor – to the “most glittering diplomatic post in the UK government”.

When Mandelson was sacked last year (after earlier files revealed particularly friendly and supportive contact between the chums), it emerged that his relationship with Epstein was known and “discussed in detail” within the Cabinet Office, and that he was “specifically asked about the association with Epstein” as part of the job-vetting process.

The gaslighting from political elites about how Mandelson’s appointment was a smart and extremely good move continues to age like fish.

Reform leader Nigel Farage was a big fan at the time, calling Mandelson a “very clever man” who can “master his brief”. Frontbenchers including David Lammy also gave their seal of approval, while Sky’s Mark Stone praised Mandelson as a “sharp and agile operator”.

Now, even Mandelson’s resignation is looking like a stake in the PM’s heart. “It just makes Keir look weak, again”, one minister moaned to ITV’s Keiron Clarke, since the leadership is now bereft of the opportunity to throw Mandelson overboard. If I was Starmer, I’d maybe get cracking with stripping Mandelson of his peerage, but what do I know?

Thanks to the latest info-dump, we’ve got a new wealth of evidence that we live in a deeply sick plutocracy where people with disturbing levels of money and influence protect, support, house, finance and otherwise provide for the interests of one another. And that ecosystem didn’t die in a New York jail cell with Epstein.

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