The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince, on Thursday, as reported by the BBC, came just a week after new revelations about Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, roiled the top ranks of Britain’s political establishment.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls from members of his own Labour Party to step down after correspondence documented a much closer relationship between Mr. Epstein and Peter Mandelson, the person Mr. Starmer had appointed to be British Ambassador to the United States.
The leader of the Scottish Labour party, Anas Sarwar, urged Mr. Starmer to resign, saying the prime minister had shown bad judgment when he appointed Mr. Mandelson despite knowing that the two men were close.
Mr. Starmer, who said he did not know the extent of the relationship between Mr. Mandelson and Mr. Epstein when he appointed him and accused his former ambassador of lying, vowed to stay in office. He subsequently received the backing of every member of his cabinet, who said that changing leaders would be disruptive to the party’s efforts to govern.
But the revelations about Mr. Mandelson did force the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, Mr. Starmer’s chief of staff, who had been close to Mr. Mandelson for decades. Tim Allan, the prime minister’s communications director and a friend of Mr. Mandelson, also stepped down.
The prime minister still faces political danger from the episode. His government has agreed to hand over thousands of pages of internal correspondence relating to his decision-making about Mr. Mandelson’s appointment. Those documents could be released any day.
Aides to Mr. Starmer inside 10 Downing Street are bracing for potentially damaging news reports when the documents are released.
The police are investigating whether Mr. Mandelson committed “misconduct in public office” by sharing sensitive government documents with Mr. Epstein when he served in a previous British government. Emails released by the Department of Justice show Mr. Mandelson forwarded an internal economic memo to Mr. Epstein and shared information about a European Union bailout vote.
Mr. Mandelson has denied any criminal wrongdoing. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Michael D. Shear is a senior Times correspondent covering British politics and culture, and diplomacy around the world.
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