Political judgement matters to markets as much as it does to voters. As fresh revelations from the Epstein files trigger police interest and intensify scrutiny of Peter Mandelson’s role in public office, the controversy is fast becoming a wider test of Labour’s credibility in government.

In this exclusive commentary for Business Matters, former Downing Street strategist Alastair Campbell reflects on how a story once seen as historical embarrassment has evolved into a live political risk,  and why the consequences for Keir Starmer’s leadership could be profound.

Fresh revelations linking Peter Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein have escalated rapidly from a troubling disclosure into a full-blown political crisis for the Labour government, raising urgent questions about judgement, accountability and leadership at the top of British politics.

In the days since the latest tranche of Epstein files was published, two issues have come to dominate the debate in the UK: whether Mandelson could face criminal investigation for misconduct in public office, and whether Keir Starmer can weather the political fallout from appointing him as Britain’s ambassador to the United States, despite his known association with the convicted paedophile.

The intensity with which those questions are now being asked underlines how precarious the situation has become for Labour. What might once have been dismissed as historical embarrassment has morphed into a live test of political judgement and ethical standards at the heart of government.

For many observers, the shock lies not only in the scale of Epstein’s abuse, and the casual disregard shown towards his victims, but in the tone of some of the correspondence now in the public domain. The suggestion that Mandelson was providing Epstein with commentary on sensitive political developments during the fraught period surrounding the 2010 general election, alongside allegations of sharing potentially market-sensitive material and receiving money, has been particularly damaging.

These revelations sit uneasily with Labour’s attempts to project integrity and seriousness after years of Conservative scandal. They also reopen long-standing concerns about Mandelson’s judgement, concerns that were well known during his earlier Cabinet career, but which now carry far heavier consequences given the role he was asked to play on the world stage.

The political danger for Starmer is compounded by the perception that this controversy was avoidable. Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein was already on the record when the ambassadorial appointment was made. Critics argue that failing to anticipate how further disclosures might land reflects a broader pattern of miscalculation that has frustrated Labour MPs and unsettled supporters.

At the same time, there is a striking contrast between the scrutiny now facing the UK government and the relative lack of accountability for many prominent American figures named in the Epstein files. That imbalance has fuelled a sense of injustice and disbelief, particularly among Labour supporters who fear their party is paying a disproportionate political price.

The timing could hardly be worse. With elections looming and opinion polls offering little comfort, the government is grappling with a restless parliamentary party and a Downing Street operation that many MPs privately describe as error-prone and overly defensive. The Epstein-Mandelson affair has become a focal point for wider discontent about direction, competence and political instincts.

For Labour veterans, the disappointment is acute. After a landslide victory that promised stability and renewal, the government now finds itself firefighting a crisis that cuts to the core of trust in public life. External pressures – from a harsher media environment to geopolitical instability, undoubtedly make governing harder than in previous eras. But they do not explain why unforced errors continue to accumulate.

The deeper question is whether this moment marks a turning point or a slow-burning erosion of authority. Can the government regain control of the narrative, reassert clear ethical standards and restore confidence among its own ranks? Or does the Epstein affair expose structural weaknesses in Labour’s leadership and decision-making that will continue to surface?

As police inquiries progress and political pressure mounts, one thing is clear: this story will not fade quickly. It will shape how voters, investors and international partners assess the judgement and resilience of the current government. And for a party that returned to power promising higher standards, the stakes could hardly be higher.

Alastair Campbell

Alastair Campbell is a writer, broadcaster and political strategist, best known as former Director of Communications and Strategy for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. He is the co-host of the hit podcast The Rest Is Politics with Rory Stewart, one of the UK’s most-listened-to political podcasts. Watch or listen to The Rest Is Politics, wherever you get your podcasts.

Alysa Liu stands as one of figure skating’s most remarkable stories — a prodigy turned retiree turned world champion. Here are 10 essential facts about the 20-year-old American sensation eyeing Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic gold.

1. Youngest U.S. women’s champion ever — at just 13

Liu shattered records at the 2019 U.S. Championships in Detroit, becoming the youngest women’s senior national champion in history at age 13 years, 8 months. She placed second in the short program before dominating the free skate, landing three triple Axels — the first U.S. woman to do so at nationals. The feat broke Tara Lipinski’s previous age record and marked her as a generational talent.

2. Back-to-back U.S. titles at 14 — first since Ashley Wagner

In 2020, Liu defended her title in Greensboro, becoming the first American woman to win consecutive senior nationals since Ashley Wagner (2012-13). She set a national scoring record of 235.52 points and became the first U.S. woman to land a quad Lutz at championships. At 14, Liu also joined Mirai Nagasu as the first to sweep junior and senior titles back-to-back.

3. First woman EVER to land quad Lutz + triple Axel in one program

During her 2019 junior Grand Prix USA win in Lake Placid, Liu made history as the first female skater worldwide to complete both a quadruple Lutz and triple Axel in the same program. She also notched the first ratified quad Lutz by an American woman and the first triple Axel-triple toe in a senior short program. These technical milestones redefined women’s jumping standards.

4. Shocking retirement at 16 after Worlds bronze

After earning bronze at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier — the first U.S. women’s Worlds medal since Ashley Wagner’s 2016 silver — Liu stunned the sport by retiring at age 16 in April 2022. “I honestly never thought I’d accomplish as much as I did,” she said, enrolling at UCLA in fall 2023. The decision followed Beijing 2022’s sixth-place Olympic finish and Worlds success.

5. Epic comeback: World gold in 2025, first for U.S. woman in 19 years

Liu returned for the 2024-25 season and dominated, winning the 2025 World Championships in Boston — the first U.S. women’s world title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006. Her comeback path included second at U.S. Nationals, Grand Prix Final gold (2025-26), and four Challenger Series titles. She called it “improbable,” inspired by a skiing trip friend’s encouragement.​

6. Olympic debut: 6th place in Beijing 2022

Liu’s senior international debut came at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where she placed sixth — best among U.S. women — despite jumping challenges. The result qualified her for Worlds bronze weeks later, launching her senior medal haul.

7. Junior phenom: JGP Final silver, world junior bronze

As a junior, Liu won two straight JGP events (Lake Placid, Poland), took silver at the 2019-20 JGP Final behind Kamila Valieva, and bronze at 2020 Worlds Junior Championships. She led the 2021-22 ISU Challenger Series standings by nearly 40 points over Anastasia Gubanova.

8. Technical pioneer: Redefined women’s jumping

Liu pioneered jumps now standard: first American woman with quad Lutz (2019 Aurora Games), first with triple Axel-double toe at U.S. Nationals short program, and youngest with clean triple Axel internationally (2018 Asian Open, age 12). Her free skate records include highest TES (83.94, 2019 JGP Poland) and PCS (72.27, 2025 Worlds Team Trophy).

9. Life off ice: UCLA student, Everest Base Camp climber

During retirement, Liu climbed Mount Everest Base Camp (17,598 ft), pursued photography, and started at UCLA. She returned selectively choosing costumes, music and programs, embracing creative control post-hiatus. Liu credits the break for maturity fueling her world title.​

10. Milano Cortina 2026 gold favorite

Now 20, Liu enters the 2026 Winter Olympics as America’s top medal hope, blending senior experience with prodigy technique. Her 2025-26 Grand Prix Final win, three GP medals and world gold position her for podium contention in Milano Cortina. CBS’s 60 Minutes profiled her “improbable comeback” ahead of the Games.

From 13-year-old phenom to world champion comeback queen, Alysa Liu’s journey captivates — technical wizardry, resilience and maturity positioning her for Olympic immortality.

Joakim Nideborn
CFO & Deputy CEO

All right. Good afternoon from a snowy Sweden on this cold February day. So welcome to this meeting. We will run an HMS investor briefing for about an hour. And we’ve been doing this a couple of times. We’ve had a — sometimes we have a pretty high demand for one-to-one meetings, and we don’t have really the time to take all of them. So instead, we do these briefings where we take a few people together and talk about the company.

This is primarily for you who are fairly new to HMS. So I will do like maybe a 20-minute introduction. I will cover the financials for 2025 briefly as well. And then we will open up for Q&A for the rest of the session. And we — so we have 1 hour in total and feel free to ask questions after a while. So for the first part, you will be on mute and then I will open up for you to be able to ask questions.

So I will start with the presentation, and we will then run this introduction, financial summary and then Q&A.

So HMS, we have today since reorganization since a year ago, we have now 3 divisions in the business. We’re in the Industrial ICT business, Industrial Information and Communication Technology. If we start with the first division, the Industrial Data Solutions, which is about 46% of our sales in 2025, we have a pretty wide offer within connecting, secure and diagnose your Industrial Data Solutions and also visualize the content. And we do this through remote access and remote data as we call it. So you can actually

NSE said the IPO will involve the listing of its equity shares on one or more recognised Indian stock exchanges, subject to applicable regulatory approvals, prevailing market conditions and other relevant factors.

The development comes soon after NSE recently received a no-objection from market regulator Sebi to proceed with its IPO, ending a decade-long wait for approval for its public issue.

As part of the listing preparations, the board also approved the reconstitution of its IPO Committee, which will carry out activities specifically delegated by the governing board for facilitating the IPO process.

The reconstituted committee will be chaired by Tablesh Pandey and will include public interest directors Srinivas Injeti, Prof Mamata Biswal, Abhilasha Kumari, and Prof Sivakumar, along with NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Chauhan.

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The committee is expected to serve as the central authority for the listing process, including defining listing procedures and establishing criteria for appointing merchant bankers and legal advisors required to draft the Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).
The proposed IPO is expected to be among the largest in India’s capital markets, given NSE’s scale and dominance in the domestic equity derivatives market. NSE has around 1.77 lakh shareholders and is valued at over Rs 5 lakh crore in the grey market, according to various analysts.The listing is widely being watched as a landmark event for India’s capital markets ecosystem, given NSE’s role as the country’s largest stock exchange by volumes and its central position in the financial market infrastructure.

Q4: 2026-02-05 Earnings Summary

EPS of $6.67 beats by $0.01

 | Revenue of $4.68B (3.82% Y/Y) misses by $228.37M

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The Development Bank of Wales participated in the firm’s Series A funding round

Fintech venture Sidekick, which has developed a digital wealth platform for professionals, has raised £7.8m in Series A funding round. The investment will accelerate the company’s expansion in Wales, where it has established an operational hub in Cardiff – at Tramshed Tech- and support its mission to make sophisticated investment tools more accessible beyond traditional private banking.

The round is led by Eos Ventures and the Development Bank of Wales, with participation from Koro Capital and existing investors Seedcamp, MS&AD Ventures, TheVentureCity, PactVC, Blackwood, 1818 Venture Capital and Semantic Ventures.

London headquartered Sidekick was founded in 2022 to modernise wealth management for professionals whose financial needs have outgrown entry-level investing apps.

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The platform brings together long-term investing, personalised portfolios, private markets and Lombard lending – a form of borrowing against an investment portfolio that allows customers to access liquidity without selling assets. This type of lending has traditionally only been available through private banks in the UK.

The platform now supports more than £145m in total assets across its customer base, reflecting growing demand from professionals seeking greater control and transparency as their financial needs evolve.

Matt Ford, founder and chief executive of Sidekick, said: “A lot of hardworking professionals look like they’re doing well on paper, but still feel unsure whether they’re actually making the most of their money. They’ve outgrown entry-level investing tools, yet traditional wealth management often feels over complicated and expensive for what it delivers. Sidekick is designed to remove unnecessary complexity and give people access to investment tools that have traditionally sat inside private banking. This funding allows us to scale that approach, expand our investment offering and reach more people who want transparency rather than complexity.”

The funding will be used to grow Sidekick’s team, accelerate product development and support continued customer growth.

The development bank said that Sidekick currently has a small team at its new hub, but this is expected to grow significantly over the coming months. It is creating roles cross customer service, compliance and operations.

Jack Christopher, investment executive at the Development Bank of Wales, said: “Our investment in Sidekick reflects our long‑term commitment to backing ambitious tech businesses in Wales. The company is building high‑value products, creating skilled jobs and contributing real economic impact. By providing the growth capital that underpins innovative firms like Sidekick, we’re helping to strengthen Wales’ tech ecosystem and support the next generation of companies shaping the future of financial services.”

James Tootell, partner at Eos Ventures, said: “Over the last decade technology has transformed financial services – from trading and everyday banking to credit and insurance – yet private banking has largely been left behind. Sidekick is applying the same modern, digital approach to wealth, delivering greater access, transparency and control to a segment that has traditionally been underserved.”