Britain’s political class is being shaken by a scandal the scale of which typically comes around only once in a generation, and the man at the heart of it was once seen as the savior of the party that is currently in power.

Labour MPs have revolted against their own government over its handling of Peter Mandelson, who is accused of leaking secret information to Jeffrey Epstein.

Emails released by the US Department of Justice illustrate the depth of that friendship and appear to confirm that it continued, and even flourished, after Epstein's 2008 conviction.