We owe it to Epstein's victims and to British democracy to demand historic change | Gordon Brown

"In Jeffrey Epstein's wider circle, women and girls were treated as less than human by powerful men acting far beyond the law. The sexual trafficking plotted by him and his fellow criminals is the most egregious example of a global network of wealthy and powerful men that thinks it can act with impunity. Nothing less than a century-defining rebalancing of power and accountability is equal to this moment and the trauma of the victims."

"During the financial crisis, I wanted every moment of every day to be spent doing everything that could be done to save people's homes, savings, pensions and jobs. That a member of the cabinet at the time was thinking more of himself and his rich friends is a betrayal of everything we stand for as a country. That the leaks of sensitive information were going to someone we now know was the ringmaster of a cabal of abusers and enablers sickens me."

"In the weeks and months to come, we must find ways to rebuild trust. Yet trust in politics, once dented, is difficult to repair. And so, as the police investigate Peter Mandelson amid allegations of financial and political misconduct, indeed criminality, politicians have a herculean task to persuade people that they act in the public interest and not only self-interest. Already, two-thirds of the British public believe that politicians are out primarily for themselves."

Jeffrey Epstein's wider circle treated women and girls as less than human, and sexual trafficking by him and fellow criminals exemplifies a global network of wealthy, powerful men acting with impunity. The scale of victim trauma demands a century-defining rebalancing of power and accountability. Leaks of sensitive information reached Epstein, who functioned as a ringmaster of abusers and enablers, and alleged political misconduct during the financial crisis indicates betrayal by officials who prioritized friends over public welfare. Rebuilding trust will be difficult. Police investigations into figures like Peter Mandelson intensify public scepticism, with two-thirds of the British public believing politicians act primarily out of self-interest.

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