The University and College Union (UCU) in the North of Ireland has called for Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) to suspend ties with anyone known to have associated with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That would include the warmongering current university chancellor Hillary Clinton, along with former chancellor and former US senator George Mitchell.
Queen’s University Belfast: UCU calls for it to cut ties with Epstein associates
A congressional committee in the US is currently investigating the notorious paedophile, with both Hillary and husband Bill set to be hauled before the inquiry to determine their potential involvement.
Mitchell’s alleged role in Epstein’s child abuse ring resurfaced last week, when a 2003 letter released as part of that ongoing investigation showed him describing his friendship with Epstein as a “blessing”. It formed part of a ‘birthday book’ presented to Epstein in which friends of the abuser made apparent tongue-in-cheek reference’s to his criminality.
Mitchell has previously been implicated by Virginia Giuffre, who was one of the most well-known among the many who accused Epstein and his associates of appalling crimes. She accused the former US senator in 2019 of forcing her to have sex with him. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025. However, the Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at QUB is nevertheless named after the man himself.
Mitchell is best known for his role as chair of the peace talks that ultimately led to 1998’s Good Friday Agreement.
The UCU statement points out that Clinton’s current role is:
an ambassadorial one, an honorary figurehead responsible for promoting the institution’s activities, vision and ethos to the public, both internationally and within the local community.
Hilary Clinton: bloodthirsty former presidential candidate never a suitable figurehead
It’s questionable whether the bloodthirsty former presidential candidate was ever a suitable figurehead for an institution attempting to portray itself as a progressive space. She has never seen a US war she didn’t like, supporting both Gulf Wars, the assault on Libya, through to the current US-armed genocide in Gaza.
One of her most infamous moments was when she was seen cackling after learning of the brutal death of Gaddafi, which involved him being raped with a sharp object, likely a bayonet. In the clip, Clinton can be seen gleefully celebrating the murder with a similarly delighted CBS interviewer. The video led to her being described by former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis as “a dangerous person” in the run-up to Clinton’s 2016 run on the White House.
Her tenure as chancellor has been marked by opposition. Notably, much of this opposition in the last two years has come during the course of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. She is known for attacking the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. She has sneered at Palestine supporters for a supposed lack of education, before smearing student protesters in US college encampments as “pro-Hamas”. QUB students staged a sit-in protest in May 2024. Then, a major protest took place in November of the same year, when Clinton was attending the Global Innovation Summit on campus. This resulted in the violent arrest of four protesters. Of that foursome, three students ultimately received a caution for simply opposing a genocide. The matter was referred to the Police Ombudsman.
The risk of serious reputational damage
The UCU statement goes on to say:
The brilliant work and reputation of the centre for Global Peace, Security and Justice must not be risked by the individual’s name whom it bears. A failure by QUB to dissociate itself from Epstein’s network could cause serious reputational damage and have a profoundly dire effect on student recruitment.
The reality is that Clinton’s tenure has already caused significant reputational damage. The university was happy to install a vicious advocate of massive imperial violence, simply because it prioritised making a fawning gesture towards the global power centre of Washington. Mitchell’s association with Epstein should have long disqualified him from any connection too.
The statement calls for “suspending” links to such figures, presumably until more is uncovered about Epstein’s crimes and those complicit in them. It’s unclear how long that suspension may last, given the Trump administration’s ongoing refusal to release relevant documents, which points to a ruling class intent on covering its tracks in a scandal that has revealed their depravity like few others.
Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Queen’s University Belfast
This post was originally published on Canary.