{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6b2fc9ba-b9b7-4b7a-b980-e0024facd926/69838c291976ad1237e46687?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Will Mandelson be Starmer's downfall?","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/61b9f75c1a8cbe0c083cee79/1770228883438-88a41f61-79a7-4388-9352-ecf375d89aae.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Keir Starmer knew about Peter Mandelson's friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – but still appointed him US ambassador.</p><p><br></p><p>After a bruising Prime Minister's Questions for Keir Starmer, Ailbhe Rea joins Anoosh Chakelian to discuss whether the Mandelson affair could be the downfall of the Prime Minister – or his closest aide, Morgan McSweeney, who championed Mandelson.</p><p><br></p><p>Ailbhe shares her exclusive reporting on the process which led to Mandelson's appointment, and the impact this scandal will have on the Labour Party and the Prime Minister.</p><p><br></p><p>READ</p><p><a href=\"https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour/2026/02/the-mandelson-affair-inside-the-scandal-of-a-century\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Mandelson Affair: inside the scandal of a century</a></p>","author_name":"The New Statesman"}