The family of Virginia Giuffre, a prominent victim of Jeffrey Epstein, has stated to the BBC that Lord Mandelson should have never been appointed as the UK ambassador to the United States.
In an exclusive interview with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, characterized the appointment as indicative of “how deep the corruption goes in our systems”.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC that it was “highly unlikely” Lord Mandelson would have been appointed if the extent of his relationship with Epstein had been known to government officials.
There is no indication that Lord Mandelson ever met Giuffre. He stated last week that, “perhaps as a gay man,” he never sought or was offered introductions to women by Epstein.
Lord Mandelson was dismissed by the prime minister this week, following the release of emails demonstrating the Labour peer sent supportive messages to Epstein as he faced imprisonment for sex offenses in 2008.
Speaking on the program, Kyle expressed that it was “extremely distressing” to witness the interview with Giuffre’s family.
He noted that at the time of Mandelson’s appointment, the UK-US relationship was in a “perilous state,” and Britain “needed somebody with outstanding, singular talents.”
Kyle stated that much was known about Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein during the vetting process, and the decision was made to appoint him after deliberation.
When questioned whether the appointment was a mistake, Kyle responded: “They [Giuffre’s family] say it was a mistake.
“And retrospectively, if we had known the information that we know now, it is highly unlikely that he would have been appointed because what we know now is materially different to what we understood at the time.”
Giuffre alleged that she was abused by Epstein after meeting Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite, in 2000 while working at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
In 2001, at the age of 17, she stated that Epstein took her to London and introduced her to Prince Andrew, who she alleged sexually abused her three times. The prince, who has denied all allegations, reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022, which included no admission of liability or apology.
After years of campaigning, she became a prominent victim of Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre died by suicide in April.
Giuffre’s sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts, told the BBC, “Why does it take us to have to pull out the skeletons for people to be held accountable? Our governments have allowed these people to hold their status and their title without shame.”
“He should never have been given that title. We have to put the spotlight on them. It’s unfair we continuously pull these skeletons out, that survivors have to continuously point the finger for us to do the right thing.”
Neither Downing Street nor Lord Mandelson provided comment.
Lord Mandelson’s dismissal occurred following the publication of emails between the Labour peer and Epstein by Bloomberg.
In the emails, the peer urged Epstein to strive for early release and revealed the extent of their contacts and relationship.
Lord Mandelson informed the BBC that he relied on assurances of Epstein’s innocence, “that turned out later to be horrendously false,” and has repeatedly expressed regret regarding his relationship with the deceased convicted sex offender.
Sir Keir Starmer made the decision to dismiss Lord Mandelson after reviewing the emails on Wednesday night, having expressed confidence in the Labour peer at Prime Minister’s Questions earlier that day.
Kyle stated on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the emails revealed a “material difference” in what was known at the time of the appointment.
However, a senior Whitehall figure informed the BBC that it would have been possible for the government to locate those messages had more questions been asked and more in-depth background checks conducted.
The BBC has also learned that Sir Keir explicitly questioned Lord Mandelson about his connections to Epstein before deciding to appoint him.
The questions arose after initial vetting of the Labour peer flagged his relationship with Epstein.
The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats have stated that those in government still have questions to answer regarding what they knew about Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein prior to his appointment.
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott stated that the Conservatives would “use every mechanism that is available to us to force the truth to come out.”
She questioned: “How have we ended up in a situation where the advice for the prime minister is to appoint the ‘best pal’ of a convicted paedophile to be US ambassador?”
The Liberal Democrats are also calling for an independent inquiry into what was known about Lord Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein at the time of his appointment.
Labour MP Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan stated that Lord Mandelson “should never have been appointed” because his connections to Epstein were known.
She stated that the prime minister had to do “a lot of proving to the public to show he’s up to the job,” adding that Labour would be “judged” at next year’s local elections.
Mr. Roberts, Giuffre’s younger brother, said that the firing of Mandelson was a “step in the right direction” but “the reality is that’s not nearly enough”.
Referencing Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book, to which Lord Mandelson contributed several pages along with dozens of other contributors he added, “there are still people out there, still people in that book who could be doing this to other young women and children right now.”
Entries from 40 people, divided into several categories such as “friends”, “business”, “science” and “Brooklyn”, were published, though the names under “family” and “girl friends” were redacted.
These people are not accused of any legal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s case.
Late on Sunday evening, the Conservatives said the party had written to the prime minister with a series of questions about who knew what and when in the Lord Mandelson saga.
The Tories said they would push in the coming days for the release of further information.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ms. Giuffre’s brother stated Prince Andrew needs to be fully investigated over allegations he sexually abused her.
The Duke of York, who has denied all claims against him, reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022 which contained no admission of liability or apology.
The family’s first UK interview was broadcast on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. As well as Lord Mandelson they discuss Epstein, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew, and their hope for Virginia’s legacy.
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