Keir Starmer set his own trap - and it's impossible for him to ever recover
Keir Starmer spent years vilifying his Tory predecessors but the Prime Minister is far worse than any of them. After days of fury in the country and on his own backbenches, he had the gall to apologise to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein. But not because he had ignored Peter Mandelson's, still technically Lord Mandelson, well known association with a convicted paedophile.
It is an insult first and foremost to the victims, but also to every single one of us. The Prime Minister is taking the public for fools. What has come out in recent days about Mandelson has been so utterly shocking, a betrayal of the country on a scale not seen for generations. But the revelations have been about money and abuse of his privileged position in government.
Mandelson's association with Epstein after his conviction has long been a matter of public record. He was reminded of Mandelson's decision to stay in Epstein's New York house while the paedophile was in prison.
Starmer took the decision to appoint him as the UK's ambassador to Washington in the full knowledge of that fact. It is one of the most plum jobs a prime minister can appoint. The ambassadorial residence is a place of beauty and history. The parties, the power, the privilege all set against a backdrop of silk wallpaper.
Starmer has admitted that the ties between the two men were known but insisted that "none of us knew the depths and the darkness of that relationship".
At a press conference, he addressed Epstein's victims, saying: "I am sorry, sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you.
"Sorry for having believed Mandelson's lies and appointed him and sorry that even now you're forced to watch this story unfold in public once again."
The words are hollow, an attempt to limit the damage of a decision that he was clear-eyed about when he took it. If Starmer thought about the victims at all when he made the Washington appointment, he made a calculation that Mandelson was so useful to him that their suffering was low on the agenda.
The Prime Minister was already struggling to keep his unpopular government on track when he called for his services. Who better to call when you are in a spot of political bother than the master of spin, the plotter in chief, the one of the three architects of the modern Labour party?
He chose to ignore Mandelson's long documented weakness for power and money that led him to Epstein's door and the friendship between the two men that continued after the paedophile's conviction. Week in, week out during the Tories years, he talked about leadership and integrity.
He loathed Boris Johnson for the easy charm he so lacked and revelled in the so-called Partygate debacle. Starmer gave no concession to a premier thrust into a situation unprecedented in our lifetimes, one that also left Johnson close to death.
When Johnson and his then chancellor, Rishi Sunak, were fined for attending a meeting of his Cabinet where, unbeknownst to them, cake was produced to mark the PM's birthday, Starmer's response was to demand Johnson's resignation.
He said: "The guilty men were the Prime Minister and the Chancellor ... Britain deserves better. They have to go."
When Johnson promoted one of his MPs, Chris Pincher, who was facing sexual allegations, Starmer pointed his finger as he told the Commons Johnson had known about his minister's behaviour "but he promoted him to a position of power anyway".
How can he square his own words with giving Mandelson a free pass for his own dubious past? Starmer portrayed himself as a man of honour who stood in contrast to his self-serving opponents.
But even from his early days in power, he favoured his friends. There was no convincing explanation for Lord Alii, the peer who paid £16,000 for clothing and £2,485 for his specs, to have a pass for No 10.
He has broken manifesto pledges while making decisions that will have implications for this country for generations to come without voters ever being given a say on them.
His manifesto accused the Conservatives of shattering trust and promised a "clean-up that ensures the highest standards of integrity and honesty".
Starmer has failed to live up to his own standards and it is impossible for him or his government to ever recover.