United News of Bangladesh

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said the scandal involving Peter Mandelson is a serious challenge for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, though he described Starmer as a man of integrity who was betrayed by his former ally. Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, Brown said Starmer may have been too slow to act after allegations emerged that Mandelson passed sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, he said Starmer remained the right leader to reform Britain’s political system and restore trust. Brown’s comments came as London’s Metropolitan Police concluded searches of two properties linked to Mandelson as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office. Mandelson, a former business secretary and later UK ambassador to the United States, has denied any criminal wrongdoing and says he was not motivated by financial gain. Brown said the situation was serious and warned that failure to address corruption and unethical conduct would carry heavy political costs. He added that Starmer now needed to act decisively and should be judged by his actions in the coming months. Email exchanges released in the latest batch of Epstein-related documents suggest Mandelson shared internal government information with Epstein. This included details about the UK’s struggling economy, a memo discussing the sale of government assets and advance notice of a major European Union bailout during the eurozone crisis. The emails also show Mandelson giving frequent political updates to Epstein in the days after Labour lost power in the 2010 general election. Brown said he felt shocked and betrayed by the disclosures, arguing that Mandelson’s actions may have put Britain’s economy and currency at risk. He said speculative trading could have been triggered by the leaked information, causing serious commercial damage. He also said the emails suggested Mandelson was planning his post-government career while still serving as business secretary during the global financial crisis, describing this as a betrayal of his colleagues and the country. Brown called on Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who also appears in the Epstein files, to cooperate fully with authorities investigating Epstein’s crimes. He said the case exposed a global network of powerful individuals who believed they were above the law. The former prime minister renewed his call for sweeping political reforms, including the creation of an anti-corruption commission with powers to seize assets. He also urged the government to implement tougher vetting for senior appointments, introduce public confirmation hearings and strengthen oversight of ethics in public life. On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said searches had been carried out at addresses in Wiltshire and north London as part of an ongoing investigation involving a 72-year-old man. No arrest has been made and inquiries are continuing.   With inputs from BBC

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday described Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus' recent visit to the United Kingdom as "very successful" but noted that for some reasons meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could not be held at the last moment. "In our consideration, the visit was very successful," acting Foreign Secretary Ruhul Alam Siddique told a media briefing at the ministry. Secretary (East) Dr Md Nazrul Islam and Director General (Public Diplomacy) Shah Asif Rahman were also present. Responding to a query, he said the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke, during a breakfast meeting with him before the visit, conveyed that the visit was upgraded to an official visit. Later, she met the Chief Adviser and conveyed the same message to the Bangladesh side. Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Abida Islam was also conveyed by the UK side that it is an official visit. Prof Yunus thanks Australia for resuming visa operations in Dhaka In an official visit, the acting Foreign Secretary said they think certain things will take place, including a meeting at the Prime Minister-level between the two countries. He said the meeting was on agenda until the Chief Adviser reached London but the specific time was not marked. “We had an expectation even at the last moment that the meeting would take place. At the last moment, for any reason, the meeting did not take place,” Siddique said. Except for the meeting with the Prime Minister, he said, the Chief Adviser had more meetings than planned and he was provided with full protocol. The acting Foreign Secretary, however, said some responsibilities come onto their shoulders as they (MoFA) were part of the preparation of the visit. Explaining why the visit is seen as very successful, he mentioned tangible progress achieved in terms of stolen asset recovery, receiving the King Charles III Harmony Award by the Chief Adviser and one-on-meeting with the King. Siddique said he does not see any logical ground for making things complicated on historic and friendly relations between the two countries after a successful visit for a single issue,” said the acting Foreign Secretary. On Thursday, the Chief Adviser received the King Charles III Harmony Award at the St James Palace in London. The award recognises Prof Yunus' "unique contribution to ensuring harmonious coexistence between people, nature and the environment, bringing about positive changes in the lives of the marginalised communities and building a peaceful, harmonious and sustainable world". Ahead of the award ceremony, King Charles welcomed the Chief Adviser for a private audience at Buckingham Palace. They discussed issues of mutual interests during the half an hour-long one-on-one meeting. During his visit to the UK, Prof Yunus told BBC that he had not been able to arrange a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Dhaka, UAE to strengthen ties, address visa issue: Lutfey Siddiqi "I don't know whether I should be disappointed or he should be disappointed. It's a missed opportunity. "That's why I'm saying coming to Bangladesh would be a good opportunity to relax and see and feel the moment,” the Chief Adviser told BBC in an interview. When asked if Downing Street had given a reason for not scheduling a meeting with Starmer, he said, "I don't think we have received an explanation from that kind of thing. Probably he is busy with other important things."