Bill Gates struck a defensive tone this afternoon as he faced a hostile British parliamentary committee. The tech billionaire denied any intimate relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But his answers did little to quell the anger on the green benches.
Sources in the room tell me the atmosphere was icy. Gates appeared via video link, his face betraying a man who knows the game has changed. He stuck to the script: no business dealings after 2011, no discussions of Epstein's crimes, and certainly no personal relationship. But committee members were having none of it.
One Labour MP, a former whip, described the session as 'a masterclass in evasiveness.' The questioning was relentless. They wanted names, dates, and details of meetings. Gates gave them crumbs. The committee, I'm told, is already drafting a demand for full disclosure. They want Gates's phone records, emails, and calendar entries.
This is a dangerous moment for the Microsoft founder. The British parliamentary system has teeth. It can compel documents and even recommend criminal prosecution. The optics are terrible. A man who lectures the world on philanthropy now looks like he's hiding something.
The story has legs. Every major newspaper today leads with it. The public mood is turning sour. Gates's carefully cultivated image as a global saviour is cracking. And the Commons committee smells blood.
What happens next? Expect more leaks. Someone in the room is talking. The committee will expand its inquiry. They will call other witnesses. Gates's denials won't hold forever. The truth always leaks out in this town.
