Norway’s Labour Party will now take the initiative for Parliament to establish an independent external inquiry commission to examine the Epstein case and the Norwegian connections revealed in the US document material. This was stated by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

“The government and the Labour Party are committed to ensuring full transparency on all questions arising in connection with the Epstein case. What has come to light is serious,” Støre said in a statement to Norway’s state broadcaster NRK.

Støre pointed out that the Labour Party has already taken the initiative for Parliament’s Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs to look into the matter, and that the committee should agree on both the form and mandate for further investigations.

“The Labour Party believes it is right to have a commission appointed by the Storting, which ensures an independent review of questions related to this case,” Støre explained.

There is a meeting of the Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs Committee in Parliament on Tuesday. There, discussions will take place on how an inquiry should be structured.

Approximately 3.5 million documents related to the Epstein case were made public on 6 February, and over the past few days the debate has centred on a Norwegian inquiry into the connections to the foreign service.

At the same time, the Labour Party rejects the Progress Party’s model, under which the government itself would appoint a panel.

“It is not natural for a government-appointed panel to investigate the government itself,” Støre said.

The Labour Party’s representative on the Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Sverre Myrli, said the party will take the initiative at the committee’s meeting on Tuesday.

“In tomorrow’s meeting of Parliament’s Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs Committee, the Labour Party will take the initiative for Parliament to appoint an external inquiry commission to review questions in the Epstein case,” Myrli said.

“This matter is extremely serious, and all the facts must be put on the table,” Myrli added.

The Centre Party, for its part, has decided that it wants an independent and broad inquiry into “all matters relating to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/the foreign service”, with the mandate to be drawn up in the Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs Committee.