As my late father aged, he grew despondent about the state of the world. A Scot born to a soldier serving in India, he landed American forces on the bloodstained D-Day beaches of Omaha before living a life of modest suburban success in Surrey. Yet like many older people, he had a tendency to bemoan modernity that left me determined to be an optimist, fired by faith in freedom and humanity.

Now I am in my sixth decade, however, the Epstein scandal reinforces why I find it hard to shake off a similar mood of pessimism, filled with foreboding over the future for democracy. Goodbye Morgan McSweeney – but he is just a footnote in this dark unfolding drama.

Here is a scandal about power and hypocrisy, with sordid events hidden in plain sight at the highest strata of society. The massive dump of Epstein documents exposes the sickening web spun by a wealthy paedophile, leaving grotesque stains on leading figures in finance, politics, technology, media, academia, even sport and royalty.

They give another depressing insight into the power of repulsive men to abuse women in the wake of the grooming gangs fiasco and gruesome Gisèle Pelicot case – complete with macho boasts and insouciant jokes about girls. And they show the corrosive power of money as corrupt sleazebags flit around the world, enriching themselves still further through cosy networks.

Then there is the overpowering stench of hypocrisy emanating from emails so far released into the public gaze. The crude hypocrisy of........

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