By Isle of Wight Observer
With national attention focused on stories surrounding Peter Mandelson and his links with Jeffrey Epstein – and growing speculation about what it may mean for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney – the IW Observer asked the Island’s two MPs for their views.
Joe Robertson, Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East, gave a strongly worded response. He said: “Whatever further details emerge in the coming weeks and months, Keir Starmer appointed Peter Mandelson as our country’s ambassador to the United States knowing that he had an ongoing friendship with an international child sex trafficker. That is shameful and says everything about the character of the man who is currently Prime Minister.”
Richard Quigley, the Labour MP for Isle of Wight West, also criticised Peter Mandelson but took a different view on the wider implications.
He said: “I think Mandelson deserves everything coming to him. He represents everything that is wrong with politics. The PM will hopefully trawl over the recruitment process and take the necessary action to make sure it doesn’t happen again. As for Morgan M, I don’t know him, I’ve not met him so have no idea what part he did or didn’t play in it. What is clear is the PM is rightly furious as this isn’t how he wants to do government, but he will have to show he means business and that probably means someone needs to go.”
