Emily Thornberry

Emily Thornberry

Labour — Islington South and Finsbury

Speaking in the House of Commons on 4 February 2026

Debate

Lord Mandelson

Contribution

I would like to start by acknowledging the victims of Epstein and the powerful men around him: vulnerable, abused women and girls who were sold and traded. Since the publication of Epstein’s papers, we have learnt so much more. An email from Jeffrey Epstein to Peter Mandelson, dated 28 October 2009, reads as follows: “new york? brown? cuban-american…have you made any decisions?” A few minutes later, Peter Mandelson responds: “why are you awake. these questions are all related – desp for CuAm but can only get to NY at a time when people feel G” —that may be Gordon Brown— “won’t have some sort of breakdown…still working on it, therefore”. There are so many questions to be asked about that. One of the suggested answers might be that this is not just about young women.

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