Epstein shadow looms as Trump tours UK — and it's not just about sacked envoy Mandelson

If US President Donald Trump imagined his state visit to the United Kingdom as a breather from scandals at home, he would be in for a disappointment as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has made bigger headlines than the visit. And it’s not just because of the firing of Peter Mandelson, the British Ambassador to the United States, over his ties with the sex offender.

In recent months, Trump has come under bipartisan pressure over what critics have called a cover-up in the Epstein case. The revelations about the extent of his relationship with Epstein has also hounded him.

The state visit, which Trump envisioned as a getaway from the chaos of Washington DC to pomp and show of London, has not been easy. Protesters have projected the image of Trump and Epstein on the Windsor Castle where King Charles hosted Trump.

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Oh dear. Not such a great diplomatic start. Protesters managed to project images of Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew onto the outside walls of Windsor Castle. #Trump #statevisit pic.twitter.com/yO0fnqk5Sa

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) September 16, 2025

The problem for Trump and his hosts, however, goes beyond the American president’s ties to Trump or Mandelson’s sacking. Prince Andrew, the younger brother of Charles, was associated with Epstein for years and the scandalous association essentially ousted him from the royal family.

Trump can’t leave behind Epstein ties

Just days before the state visit to the UK, the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released Trump’s sexually suggestive message to Epstein on his 5-th birthday. The message was written on a handdrawn image of a naked woman. It was signed in a way that the signature appeared in the pubic region of the image.

The image was part of hundreds of pages of Epstein-related content published by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, including a book containing messages by several high-profile figures on his 50th birthday.

Anyone know how to make our new banner fit?? pic.twitter.com/y57z7luDmF

— Oversight Dems (@OversightDems) September 15, 2025

In the UK, Epstein connections brought to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s desk a new scandal.

Bloomberg published emails that showed Mandelson, the veteran Labour Party politician whom Starmer had appointed as the Ambassador to the United States, continued to support his “pal” Epstein even after his sexual offence conviction.

“I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened,” said Mandelson in an email.

Mandelson offered to use his political contacts to help clear Epstein’s name and gave him advice, such as using techniques from Sun Tzu’s ‘Art of War’ to handle the situation.

Starmer sacked Mandelson the day after emails were released. The British Foreign Office said that emails showed that the “depth and extent” of his relationship with Epstein was “materially different” from what was known when at the time of appointment.

“Had I known then what I know now, I’d never have appointed him,” Starmer said on his part.

As if this was not enough, Andrew’s ties to Epstein are another annoyance.

In addition to a long association with Epstein, which continued even after his sex abuse conviction, Andrew was accused by one of Epstein’s accusers of sexual abuse when she was a minor.

Virgina Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually abusing her thrice when she was 17-year-old — at the London home of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and at Epstein’s homes in New York and Little St James in the US Virgin Islands. She alleged that Andrew engaged in sexual acts without her consent while knowing she was a minor and that she was a sex-trafficking victim.

Even though an out-of-court settlement resolved the legal crisis, Andrew and the royal family never recovered from the scandal. Andrew was stripped of all military titles and royal patronages. He was barred from any public role. He has since led a quiet life outside of the royal family.

In one of the most damning moments in the scandal, a photo emerged that showed Andrew holding Giuffre by her waist. Maxwell, Epstein’s partner in crime, is seen in the background in the photo.