The "Prince of Darkness" has finally met a shadow he cannot spin his way out of. Peter Mandelson, the architect of New Labour and a titan of British politics for three decades, is facing the total collapse of his reputation as the "Epstein Files" expose a toxic web of connections that have triggered a police investigation.

For years, Mandelson drifted through the corridors of power like a "Bond villain with a Filofax," untouchable and ever-present. That era has come to a shuddering halt. The US Department of Justice has released documents detailing the extent of his contact with the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The revelations are so damaging that the Metropolitan Police have opened an investigation into Mandelson on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

A Crisis for Starmer

The fallout has crossed the Atlantic and landed squarely at 10 Downing Street. Labour MPs are warning that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tenure may be "numbered" after the fury erupted over Mandelson's recent appointment as US ambassador—a move now seen as a catastrophic error in judgment. Starmer is reportedly "furious," but the damage is done. The resurrection of Mandelson was meant to bring experience; instead, it has brought contamination.

• The House of Lords Dilemma: despite the gravity of the allegations, removing Mandelson from the House of Lords is legally complex. Experts like Henry Dyer note that peerages are notoriously difficult to strip, meaning Mandelson may retain his title even as his reputation incinerates.
• The Accountability Gap: This scandal reopens the wound of elite impunity. The files raise urgent questions about judgment, access, and how figures with such glaring liabilities are allowed to remain in the highest orbits of public life.

The End of an Era

Mandelson was the master of modernization, the man who made Labour electable. But his legacy is now inextricably linked to the darkest corners of the global elite. The "Epstein taint" is radioactive, and it does not discriminate between royalty or politicians.

As the investigation unfolds, the spectacle of one of the UK’s most enduring figures fighting for his political life serves as a grim reminder: in the end, the past always keeps its receipts. Mandelson, the great survivor, may have finally run out of lives.