Mandelson – the biggest political scandal since Profumo?
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 6 February 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
John Profumo was secretary of state for war when he had an affair with Christine Keeler, which ultimately brought down Conservative prime minister Harold Macmillan in the early 1960s.
Parallels are now being drawn between the Profumo affair, and the crisis Sir Keir Starmer is facing over Peter Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Not just because of the damage to his government but also in how the people at the centre of the scandals behaved as though normal rules did not apply to them.
It's said that history often repeats itself - and it seems politics is no different.
Niall is joined by Vanessa Holburn, author of The Profumo Affair, to discuss the parallels between the two scandals.
Producer: Tom Gillespie and Emily Hulme
Editor: Wendy Parker
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sky News, the full story first. |
| 0:09.0 | Coming up, secrets being shared, a government on the edge, young women exploited by men of power and influence. |
| 0:16.2 | This isn't 2026 instead, 1963, and the perfumo affair. |
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| 1:25.0 | There's been one story in town this week, the relationship between Peter Mandelson and Geoffrey Epstein, |
| 1:30.6 | but there's been a parallel drawn in the coverage that you might not be entirely familiar with. |
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