Good morning. Why has the fallout over Jeffrey Epstein’s connections been more pronounced in Europe? We’ll explore that below, along with the return to school in Tumbler Ridge and a shift among plus-size influencers. But first:
Today’s headlines
- Pakistan declares ‘open war’ on Afghanistan, strikes major cities
- PM Mark Carney is being urged to clarify if he believes India has stopped foreign interference in Canada
- Alberta forecasts a $9.37-billion deficit even as spending expected to hit record
- Iran and the U.S. walked away from nuclear negotiations without a deal, leaving military threats on the table
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British newspapers, featuring coverage of the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, sit on display in a newsagent in London.Jack Taylor/Reuters
Epstein files
The fallout in Europe
Hi there. I’m Paul Waldie, The Globe’s Europe Correspondent based in Britain.
I’ve been watching the fallout from the Epstein files across Europe, and the difference is striking between how the revelations have been dealt with here versus the United States.
We’ve already seen two arrests in Britain, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince who is still eighth in line to the throne. He’s being investigated over allegations that during his tenure as a trade envoy, from 2001 to 2011, he passed on government information to Jeffrey Epstein.
Police officers spent several days last week searching Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home in Windsor. The 11 hours he spent in police custody was neatly captured in a Reuters photo that went global. It pictured a shellshocked Andrew being driven home from the station.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, younger brother of Britain’s King Charles, leaves Aylsham Police Station in a vehicle, on the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, in Aylsham, Britain, Feb. 19.Phil Noble/Reuters
The second British arrest was Peter Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords and Britain’s former ambassador to Washington. He’s being investigated over allegations that during his time as a cabinet minister in 2011, he passed on sensitive information to Epstein.
In a bizarre twist to that saga, Mandelson was detained on Monday after London’s Metropolitan Police got a tip from the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, that the Lord might flee to the British Virgin Islands. It appeared that Hoyle allegedly got some intel during a trip to the Islands last week and went straight to the cops.
Mandelson and his lawyers deny any suggestion he was a flight risk and say he’d already agreed to show up for questioning next month. He was released on bail later on Monday.
Former British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson leaves his residence after he was released following his arrest by London police, Feb. 26.Toby Melville/Reuters
No charges have been laid in either case, and both men deny any wrongdoing.
The fact that they are under criminal investigation at all reflects how seriously the Epstein files are being taken in the United Kingdom. British MPs are calling to drop a rare, long-standing convention that has restricted lawmakers from criticizing the Royal Family. And there are half a dozen other police inquiries under way, including examining whether British airports were used to traffic women.
Compare that to the progress in the U.S., where no one has been arrested. And it’s not just Britain making arrests.
Criminal probes are under way in Norway and France over allegations of corruption and fraud committed by several high-profile figures who had ties to Epstein. Norway’s Royal Family has also had to deal with uncomfortable revelations from the giant batch of Epstein e-mails, photos and other documents released last month by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“You tickle my brain,” Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit wrote in one e-mail to Epstein in 2012. There have also been questions about why the princess borrowed Epstein’s property in Palm Beach, Fl., for several days in 2013. She has issued a groveling apology for “the situation I have put the royal family in.”
So why has the fallout been more pronounced in Europe? Authorities here seem more eager to go after allegations of wrongdoing by Epstein’s associates that go beyond the sex trafficking charges. That might be easier to prove if prosecutors can establish that the perpetrators gave Epstein non-public information or that they used their government positions to do business deals with the convicted sex offender.
What comes next? Likely more criminal probes and more heat for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He has no ties to Epstein, but he’s taken a political beating over his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador in 2024. He went ahead with the pick even though it was widely known that the Labour Party stalwart was a long-time friend of Epstein. Starmer has insisted he didn’t know the full extent of their relationship until the DOJ documents surfaced.
Starmer is not out of the woods yet. British MPs have voted to force the government to release all the documents surrounding Mandelson’s appointment. That could prove more embarrassing to the Prime Minister, whose leadership is already hanging by a thread. So, stay tuned.
Meanwhile, yesterday the president and CEO of the World Economic Forum, Børge Brende, announced he was stepping down weeks after an investigation started into his relationship with Epstein. Back in the U.S., former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began to testify in New York, starting off two days of depositions.
The Shot
‘I’m trying to hold onto people before they get sucked into the GLP-1 abyss.’
Weight-loss drugs shrink online body positivity movement/Illustration by Photo illustration by The Globe and Mail. Photo sources: Jenna Hill/Supplied; Chris Pizzello/AP; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Anti-diabetic and anti-obesity medication are becoming more common, and the modern body positivity movement is splintering because of it. While some plus-size influencers are starting to take GLP-1s, others stand firm that we should love our bodies as they are.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: As some students headed back to classes in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Premier David Eby promised there will be a public inquiry into the mass shooting after the RCMP complete their investigation.
Abroad: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called an early general election for March 24 as the country digests the recent sovereignty standoff with President Donald Trump.
Actuals: Canada’s job growth stalled in 2025 as key sectors of the economy were hit by the trade war.
Advice: Dads, it’s okay to struggle and ask for help.