Jeffrey Epstein’s appalling crimes tarnish those who knew him, says Gerard Baker in The Times. But the idea that these people were all drawn to him out of a desire to participate in anything depraved is misguided. Epstein enticed them not with his “harem of adolescent girls”, but with the prospect of a “sumptuous Manhattan dinner with a big hedge fund guy”; lunch on a yacht with a renowned scholar; a movie premiere with a Saudi prince. There was “entertainment” of course – a helicopter ride over his ranch in New Mexico or a jaunt around his island on a jet ski. But most of these people can get that sort of thrill – and seedier ones if they want – anywhere. The real value was “the trade”.

For those who wield a “controlling influence” over our economic and political architecture, there is always something to exchange: money, access, advice, information and above all connections. The chance for a word in the ear of someone who could make you even richer, even more powerful. A little inside info, a whiff of a deal, what hedgies call “alpha”, can make generational fortunes. Much of this is legal, though unfair on those outside the network; some of it is probably illegal. We only know Peter Mandelson was sharing valuable information with a powerful financier because the latter’s criminal depravity came to light. How many other exchanges take place daily that we’ll never know about? The irony is that the populist revulsion at these mutually back-scratching elites has resulted in a US president who essentially acts like one. But as the network is exposed, “a real populist backlash is surely inevitable”.

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Unlike Peter Mandelson, we can’t promise you the inside scoop from cabinet meetings. But when big news strikes, it’s important to take in a range of views from a variety of sources. That’s hard work, and who has the time? Well, we do. This week, we’ve told the story of the Mandelson affair using The Guardian, The Economist, The Spectator, The Times, the Telegraph and Substack. And those are just the ones we quoted.

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