Only parliament can scrub the stain of the Epstein files - The Times

The allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Mandelson go further than questions for the courts. They raise issues so profound about the integrity of our institutions that parliament itself must take ownership of the inquiry. A joint select committee, drawing members from both Houses and across parties, is the only mechanism equal to the gravity of the challenge.

The allegations go well beyond personal misconduct. If private government documents were indeed shared with Jeffrey Epstein’s network, giving a convicted sex offender the opportunity to profit from inside information, if RAF bases were used to bring in under-age prostitutes, subverting immigration controls and human trafficking protections, and if political pressure was put on the government, apparently against the wishes of the Prince of Wales at the time, to support an envoy, then what we face is not just scandal but systemic failure.

The Epstein files suggest a network linking hostile states to the heart of our own government. That demands action to protect our King, our country and our government.

If we are to protect our monarchy, we must ask who exercises authority in the King’s name, which institutions keep him free from scandal and what scrutiny applies to those who derive wealth or status from the Crown. These are not republican provocations; they are the conditions of a monarchy’s survival in a democratic age.

Equally pressing is the matter of transparency. Statements made publicly to broadcasters, to ministers, perhaps even to the sovereign, now need to be scrutinised. If senior figures are perceived to have misled the public to protect themselves, the damage extends far beyond personal reputation. It corrodes the trust on which the entire constitutional settlement depends.

A court can determine individual guilt or innocence but it cannot answer the wider questions of institutional accountability, foreign penetration and reform. Only parliament has the standing and the powers to do that. Currently these matters are being debated online and in print. It is time to bring the debate to parliament.

A joint select committee empowered to summon witnesses, compel submission of documents and report to both Houses is the only approach that will endure. Our constitutional monarchy has protected our liberties, it is now our duty to protect its integrity.

Tom Tugendhat is MP for Tonbridge and a former security minister