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Sir Keir Starmer is facing mounting scrutiny regarding Lord Mandelson, the current US ambassador, following the emergence of new details concerning his connections to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
The renewed focus stems from the release of documents by US lawmakers, including a letter where the Labour peer referred to Epstein as his “best pal”.
In an interview with Harry Cole Saves the West, Lord Mandelson alluded to the potential for additional “embarrassing” exchanges to surface. The Sun newspaper has since reported allegations that he sent supportive messages to Epstein while the latter was facing charges in 2008.
Speaking to the BBC, Lord Mandelson stated, “I relied on assurances of his innocence that turned out later to be horrendously false.”
In response to The Sun’s report, he added, “His lawyers claimed that it was a shake down of him, a criminal conspiracy. I foolishly relied on their word which I regret to this day.”
While Conservative figures and some Labour MPs have urged Lord Mandelson’s dismissal, the prime minister has expressed continued support for the diplomat.
According to The Sun, Lord Mandelson allegedly encouraged Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before Epstein’s sentencing to 18 months in prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Earlier in the interview with Harry Cole, Lord Mandelson conceded that he maintained his association with Epstein for “far longer than I should have done.”
During Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir acknowledged that Lord Mandelson had “repeatedly expressed his deep regret” for his relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
A senior official within the Trump administration conveyed to the BBC that the White House continues to collaborate with Lord Mandelson on a wide array of matters, despite the controversy surrounding his connection to Epstein.
Lord Mandelson held a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday that lasted nearly an hour.
Despite the pressure both men face regarding their past associations with Epstein, the matter was reportedly not broached during their conversation. The president did, however, commend Lord Mandelson for “doing a fantastic job as ambassador.”
Conversely, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has argued that Lord Mandelson’s position is “untenable.”
In a post on X, Badenoch stated that Lord Mandelson “needs to be fired now” in response to The Sun’s reporting on the diplomat’s ties to Epstein.
During PMQs earlier in the day, Badenoch asserted that Lord Mandelson was “mired in scandal,” raising concerns about Sir Keir’s “bad judgement.”
Badenoch has called for the public release of documents pertaining to background checks conducted on Lord Mandelson prior to his appointment.
The Liberal Democrats have also advocated for an official investigation into the extent to which Lord Mandelson disclosed his previous contacts with Epstein before Sir Keir appointed him US ambassador in December of last year.
While the prime minister refrained from detailing the specifics of what he knew regarding Lord Mandelson’s connections to Epstein prior to the appointment, he affirmed his continued confidence in him and emphasized his “important role” in UK-US relations.
He added that a “full due process” was undertaken prior to Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
Some Labour MPs are increasingly concerned about the repercussions of the Mandelson controversy, particularly coming so soon after Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy prime minister.
Despite the prime minister’s support, a number of Labour MPs broke ranks on Wednesday night, publicly calling for the ambassador’s resignation.
Among them were Richard Burgon, who stated that Lord Mandelson “should never have been appointed,” and Nadia Whittome, who echoed that sentiment, adding that it had “long been known that [Lord] Mandelson remained close to Epstein even after he was convicted of sex offences.”
Bell Ribeiro-Addy became the first Labour MP to publicly call for the ambassador to resign on Wednesday, telling the i Paper the revelations were “going to disturb quite a few people”.
The publication of a letter from Lord Mandelson to Epstein has thrown the spotlight on the pair’s relationship.
Released by a committee of US lawmakers on Tuesday, the letter from Mandelson was one of a number of documents in an alleged “birthday book” given to Epstein in 2003 to celebrate his 50th birthday.
Speaking to Harry Cole, the diplomat said it was “very embarrassing” to see the words published but added they were written “over 20 years ago”.
Lord Mandelson said he felt “a tremendous sense of regret” over his friendship with Epstein, and a “tremendous sense of sympathy” for his victims.
He said he never saw wrongdoing at any point while with Epstein.
Asked why he continued his friendship with Epstein, Lord Mandelson said he “fell for his lies”.
“I accepted assurances he had given me about his original indictment, his original criminal case in Florida. Like very many people I took at face value what he said.”
The controversy unfolds just days before President Trump’s scheduled state visit to the UK.
A senior Trump administration official declined to say whether the White House continued to have confidence in Lord Mandelson, but the official did tell the BBC they were working together on preparations for the state visit, which will celebrate the successes the UK and the US have shared since Trump returned to office.
Lord Mandelson is highly rated in Downing Street because of his ability to work with the Trump administration.
But his past relationship is awkward for the prime minister. A key question will be over Lord Mandelson’s judgement – remaining friends with Epstein after it first emerged he had been investigated.
The difficult questions for the government are likely to continue if, as Lord Mandelson suggests, there are more details to come.
Mandelson’s connection with Epstein had previously been made public. In 2019, an internal report by the bank JP Morgan said Epstein kept “a particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British government”.
Lord Mandelson has been in and out of British politics for four decades. He was instrumental in the New Labour project which saw Tony Blair win the 1997 election with a huge landslide.
He was a minister in different departments in the government until 2010, when Labour lost power and during that time earned a reputation for bouncing back after twice being forced to resign his ministerial positions.
Additional reporting by Sarah Smith, the BBC’s North America editor.
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