Epstein files fuel new UK royal and political turmoil (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Hello, welcome to the Global News Podcast on YouTube, where we go behind the headlines to focus on one story and why it matters. Today we're considering the impact on the British royal family of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, and his connection to the convicted paedophile Geoffrey Epstein. It comes as more photos emerge from the Epstein files and a growing dissatisfaction from members of the British public. We'll also look at the impact on Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, over his controversial decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US, despite his friendship with Epstein. Joining us to discuss all of that is the UK political correspondent Rob Watson. Rob, let's begin with this story today of images of Andrew from the Epstein files scattered on a road of an English village ahead of a visit by the King and Queen. Is that a... Is that a sign of the growing dissatisfaction amongst the British public at large?

[00:01:00] Speaker 2: I think that the King will be worried about it, as will the palace, and something similar happened on a visit a few weeks ago. But actually, I think so far the signs suggest, and no doubt Buckingham Palace gets some relief from this, that the scandal over Geoffrey Epstein has sort of largely left the principal figures in the royal family. So one thinks King Charles, Queen Camilla. Prince William, largely untouched. And I think what the palace will be worried about, the two things they'll be worried about, is number one, calls for King Charles perhaps to put pressure on his brother Andrew to testify in front of Congress because there have been calls for that. So in other words, will the royal family be somehow be drawn into that? And I guess the other thing that will be making the royal family profoundly uncomfortable are the emails suggesting that somehow, Buckingham Palace and other royal residences were sort of used as a reward to Miss Geoffrey Epstein and some other of ex-Prince Andrew's rich friends and circle of acquaintance.

[00:02:09] Speaker 1: You mention royal residences there. I mean, of course, we learned earlier this week that Andrew had had to move house again.

[00:02:16] Speaker 2: He was living in a pretty luxurious accommodation known as the Royal Lodge, and that might give some people the impression that it was somehow, well, cottage on the estate of Windsor Castle. It is nothing of the sort. It is a many-roomed mansion near Windsor Castle. And what we understand is that the royal family, by which I guess we understand that King Charles and his entourage were just utterly fed up with the way in which former Prince Andrew was being sort of photographed, either on horseback or in his car, looking pretty relaxed at the time of all these terrible revelations because it's important to remember that Windsor Castle, which is not that far away from London, its grounds, a lot of its grounds are open to the public. So I think it's pretty clear that King Charles wanted Andrew as far away from the public as humanly possible. So he's going to live on one of the king's estates known as Sandringham, where the hope of the royal family will be that Andrew will be much, much less visible. Well, we'll see about that.

[00:03:17] Speaker 1: Let's turn to UK politics now and the impact of all this on the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. Keir Starmer. He appointed as U.S. ambassador. What's the latest with all that?

[00:03:35] Speaker 2: Well, Sakhir Starmer, the Prime Minister, who was already, according to the opinion polls, they suggest the most unpopular leader in living memory, very unpopular within his own governing Labour Party, is now even more unpopular. I mean, this is just about as bad as it gets for the Prime Minister, Sakhir Starmer, who, essentially as in the firing line, because he appointed Peter Mandelson as ambassador, UK ambassador to Washington in December of 2024. Now, Zakir Starmer's defense is, look, you know, when we asked Peter Mandelson, you know, exactly what was your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, he said, oh, you know, we were barely acquainted. And therefore, how could I have known? I regret making the appointment now. But the criticism of Zakir Starmer is, come on, you know, just any kind of relationship, any friendship that Peter Mandelson had with Jeffrey Epstein, no matter how deep it was, surely, surely that should have rung alarm bells. So he's really being questioned about his judgment. Now, it seems to me is the big question in British politics. Is this just, you know, another nasty bruise on a politician in Zakir Starmer, who is already, you know, this utterly battered and bruised? Or is it something that's just, you know, it's just, you know, it's just, you know, it's just, you know, you know, it's just, you know, it's just, you know, it's just, you know, it's just, you know, more fatal. I mean, is this, you know, is this the crisis that finally brings his premiership to a premature end? I mean, I don't know the answer to that question. But I think that is the question.

[00:05:03] Speaker 1: Fair to say, then, that he is fighting for his political survival. I mean, he's some, his critics would suggest that he had several opportunities to do something about, you know, Peter Mandelson. And he hadn't done that up until now, perhaps.

[00:05:18] Speaker 2: You know, when politicians leave office early and democracy is like the UK, there's only normally two routes to that, right? I mean, number one is they resign. They just think that their position is hopeless, or there is some kind of rebellion. Now, I don't think Zakir Starmer shows any sign of resignation at all. In fact, he was giving a pretty feisty speech saying, look, yeah, I made a terrible mistake. I should never have appointed Peter Mandelson. It's all his fault for lying. But he made this rather kind of impassioned defense of why he went into politics. What might be the reason for that? I mean, I don't know. I don't the decency defense saying, you know, he went into politics late in life, and he went there not for personal gain or to get enriched. He did it to change the country for the better. One thing I would just throw in there, and that is that no leader, certainly as long as I've been reporting on politics, has ever come back from being this unpopular. But, you know, we live in interesting times, right?

[00:06:15] Speaker 1: What about internationally? What does it do for his reputation? He always appears to be a popular figure when he wins. He's always been a popular figure. He's always been a popular figure when he goes abroad.

[00:06:25] Speaker 2: Do you think it's damaged that? It's certainly true that Sakhir Starmer's defenders would say, you know, you could contrast his success on the international stage as they would see it in managing an incredibly difficult international portfolio with what would appear to be, you know, his pretty ham-fisted efforts at achieving success domestically at home. I mean, I think the answer to your question is that the peril for Sakhir Starmer, and this applies to all leaders, is that when you're engaging internationally with your partners, whether they're sort of allies or maybe countries that aren't so friendly towards you, they can sniff out, you know, the strength of your position. And the strength of your position depends on how popular you are at home. So you can imagine it, right? If you're a British prime minister riding high in the polls, you're seen to be immensely powerful in your own country. I think that makes you a different proposition to negotiate with, whereas, of course, Britain's partners, they're not blind. You know, they can look at the media. They can read a newspaper. They'll have their diplomat say, you know what, when Prime Minister Starmer comes to visit you, he's a man with a whole host, a whole world of problems at home. So to that extent, I think it makes his life more difficult. And, you know, it's why he's been facing charges from the main opposition party, the Conservatives and their leader, Cammy Badenoch. I think the charge that she made against him was that he'd sort of, you know, he'd kind of wrecked British diplomacy and made the country an international embarrassment. So certainly that's the attack being made on him. That is domestic woes translate into a weakening of Britain's position on the world stage.

[00:08:05] Speaker 1: And finally, Rob, what about Andrew? I mean, I know you don't have a crystal ball there in front of you, but where might this all end for him? And of course, we've got to consider that there's three million Epstein files were released a few days ago. It's taking an awful long time to get out of the way. And I think it's a very, very difficult time to get out of the way. And I think it's a very, very difficult time to get out of the way. And I think it's a very, very difficult time to get out of the way. And I think it's a very, very difficult time to get out of the to go through all those.

[00:08:29] Speaker 2: There's going to be more revelations to come as well, of course, we could probably imagine. Well, I think many of us in the media, just many of us in the country and around the world had thought two or three months ago, well, Andrew's sort of disgrace and downfall is surely complete. You know, his brother, the king, had stripped him of the title of prince, stripped him of the title of Duke of York. He wasn't being sort of paid by the the state anymore for being a member of the royal family. He'd had all of his military titles stripped from him. So he thought, well, you know, it can't be possible, can it, for anyone to fall any further than this. But I mean, in the light of these, you know, the files we've had over the last two, three, four, five days, I mean, I think everyone who's had anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein, whether it's former Prince Andrew or anybody else, must be utterly quaking in their boots as to what else might lie around the corner. So yeah, Prince Andrew could always fall even further. Former Prince Andrew, I should say.

[00:09:26] Speaker 1: Rob, thanks very much for joining us. That was Rob Watson, our UK political correspondent. And if you enjoy global stories like this, you can listen to the Global News podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. And if you think there's a story we should be covering, make sure you leave a comment down below.