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Monday 2 February 2026
In your briefing today:
One of the architects of “New Labour”, Lord Peter Mandelson, has resigned from the party over his connections to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The latest Epstein files contain famous names and sordid claims
Scotland’s new examinations body launches today: expect change
The Grammy Awards make history, amid anti-ICE protests and glamour
The Premiership race takes another twist as Rangers stumble
TODAY’S WEATHER
THE BIG STORIES
Mandelson quits Labour over Epstein claims | Exams body promises “shake-up” | Bad Bunny wins big at Grammy Awards
📣 Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour Party after further revelations about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, sacked as US ambassador last year, said he wanted to avoid “further embarrassment” for the party.
The release of another slew of Epstein files appeared to show that the former Cabinet minister accepted $75,000 from the convicted paedophile, although Mandelson says he has “no record or recollection” of payments. Being named in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing. (Guardian)
An image in the files appears to show Mandelson, in his underwear, speaking with a woman in a bathrobe. (Mail)
There’s further embarrassment for Sarah Ferguson and her daughters in the latest release: the former Duchess of York praises him as the “brother I have always wished for”. “I am at your service. Just marry me,” she appears to say in another email. (BBC)
More details from the latest Epstein files release later in today’s briefing ⬇️
📣 Scotland’s new exams body plans a shake-up of qualifications to make sure they are “absolutely fit for purpose” as it launches today.
Qualifications Scotland has taken over from the Scottish Qualifications Body, which was scrapped after a string of controversies, including the downgrading of students from disadvantaged backgrounds during the Covid pandemic.
Qualifications Scotland chief executive Nick Page says the new body’s launch is a “momentous occasion”, and that it plans to develop “a world-class qualification system that enables people of whatever age, from whatever background in Scotland, to learn, have their assessment recognised and be employable". (BBC)
“Nothing is off the table” in qualifications overhaul (Scotsman)
📣 The music world gathered for the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles overnight: Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar took home the big awards, but the event was dominated by protests at Donald Trump’s ICE squads.
Bad Bunny, who is performing at the Super Bowl next weekend, won album of the year, best música urbana album and global music performance, and said on stage: “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ICE out.”
Later, he added: “I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland to follow their dreams.” (AP)
Bad Bunny makes Grammy history (BBC)
See the full list of Grammy Awards 2026 winners (Guardian)
On the red carpet: Sabrina Carpenter “stuns” alongside Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus (The Mirror)
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AROUND SCOTLAND
📣 Business confidence in Scotland remains weak according to the latest Fraser of Allander Institute Scottish Business Monitor. Cost pressures and subdued investment are among the causes. (Holyrood) (Read the full report)
📣 Scottish Labour would ban trans prisoners from female jails if they won the Scottish election, leader Anas Sarwar has said. (Daily Record (£))
📣 The chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland has resigned after 24 years at the organisation, following controversy over the Edinburgh Rape Crisis centre’s failure to provide women-only spaces. (STV)
AROUND THE UK & WORLD
📣 The Kennedy Center in Washington, is to close for two years from July for renovations, Donald Trump has said. The centre has seen a wave of cancellations and record-low ticket sales since the president started interfering with the centre’s management early in his term. (Guardian)
The Melania Trump documentary “Melania” was mocked by critics… but it did quite well over the weekend, for a documentary, netting $7 million in ticket sales. It’s the most expensive documentary ever made, costing Amazon $75 million. (AP)
📣 A former TikTok employee has accused the company of bullying, harassment and union-busting, saying she was monitored by AI “all day long”. (Sky News)
📣 Men are covertly filming women on nights out and then making money from posting the footage online, an investigation has found. (BBC)
SPORT
⚽️ The race for the Scottish Premiership took another exciting turn at the weekend.
Hearts disposed of Dundee United easily enough on Saturday night, winning 3-0 at Tannadice (BBC - report & highlights)
Rangers, starting the day in second place, faltered yesterday, managing only a 0-0 draw away to Hibs. The Edinburgh side had the best chances. (BBC - report & highlights)
Celtic leapfrogged their Glasgow rivals on games won after beating Falkirk 2-0 in Glasgow. (BBC - report & highlights)
David Martindale’s time as Livingston manager is up: he’s becoming sporting director at the club, with deputy Marvin Bartley taking over. The club are six points adrift at the bottom of the table. (BBC)
⚽️ It’s the final day of the transfer window: both Celtic and Rangers are expected to make signings today.
Junior Adamu is expected to arrive at Celtic from Freiburg (Daily Record)
Rangers have reached a deal with Ryan Naderi, a striker at Hansa Rostock… but as things stand he won’t arrive until the summer (The Sun)
⚽️ Manchester City “threw points away” against Spurs, giving up a two-goal lead to only draw in North London. (Guardian)
IDEAS
Three things we learned at the weekend: Glasgow’s troubled “super hospital”, Epstein files latest, and Green’s Polanski speaks out on drugs
🗣️ A huge row continues to rage over Glasgow’s “super-hospital”, which opened with flaws that led to deadly infections.
At the heart of the latest element of the row: claims by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar that there was political pressure applied to get the hospital opened just before the 2015 general election, when it was clear the building wasn’t ready and hadn’t been signed off, and that the government knew of problems long before they were admitted.
The Scottish Mail on Sunday reported the SNP ignored 14 warnings about serious infections at the hospital in the three years after it first opened. Shona Robison was health secretary at the time, and her officials would have known about the spate of rare red and amber alerts about the hospital, yet no action was taken. (An exclusive from the Mail on Sunday)
Meanwhile, the former chair of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board said he thought governance had been “pretty good” during the project. Andrew Robertson, a former partner at law firm TC Young, also said “there was not political pressure” over getting the hospital opened, but later added: “There was continual interaction between the Scottish government and the executive team in NHS GGC. We were both determined [to run to the timetable] because from the Scottish government point of view, it was critical with the expenditure and from our point of view it was critical for dovetailing in [opening the QEUH] with the services that were going to close.” (🎁 Sunday Times - gift link)
🗣️As already mentioned earlier, the latest tranche of the Epstein Files dropped late on Friday, and has been getting digested all weekend. They make for queasy reading, although the inclusion of third parties in those files does not imply guilt.
There are yet more questions for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor: an image from the files shows him on all fours over a slightly built woman lying on the floor. All are clothed, and the woman’s identity - and state - is not clear. (Independent)
Emails suggested he invited convicted paedophile Epstein for dinner at Buckingham Palace, and agreed to meet a “beautiful” Russian woman.
Epstein and the former prince remained in contact until at least 2017, seven years after the royal claimed to have cut ties with Epstein. (Telegraph)
Bill Gates described as “absolutely absurd and completely false” claims, contained in an email Epstein sent himself in 2013, that he engaged in extramarital sex, and then attempted to cover up having an STI. (People)
It emerged that Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit had years of contact with Epstein: she has admitted “poor judgment” over those links. “It’s simply embarrassing,” she said. (BBC)
There are several other famous names in the files, including Richard Branson, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Elon Musk. The Wall Street Journal has a roundup of mentions, and responses from those named. (🎁 WSJ - gift link)
🗣️ The leader of the Green Party of England and Wales caused a stir with his appearance on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Zack Polanski’s party was mocked for being “high on drugs and soft on Putin” by Keir Starmer last week at Prime Minister’s Questions.
But Polanski said he’d never taken drugs or “even drunk alcohol”, and wanted to legalise all drugs, and regulate their use. He said Starmer’s jibe was the PM “making cheap jokes delivered badly”.
He told Kuenssberg that politicians who admitted taking drugs and then advocated for incarcerating drug users were taking a “hypocritical approach”, when a “public health approach” was needed to prevent deaths. (Guardian)
👍 That’s your Early Line for the day
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