‘It is shameful. It does shame politics,’ said health minister Karin Smyth
Here are some more extracts from Katy Balls’ interview with Peter Mandelson in the Times (mostly conducted early last week, before the latest Jeffrey Epstein revelations). (See 9.13am.)
Mandleson says he was “naive” in his dealings with Epstein. He says:
I don’t know what [Epstein’s] motives were – probably mixed – but he provided guidance to help me navigate out of the world of politics and into the world of commerce and finance.
Perhaps he wanted to be a mentor and I was naive in regarding him as a good-faith actor. There was no reason to shun his advice, but I was too trusting. He was always very free and forthright with his views and always presented them as in my best interests.
