British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promptly removed Peter Mandelson from his post as the U.K.’s ambassador to the United States. This decision follows the disclosure of emails that revealed his connections to convicted pedophile were more extensive than previously understood.
A series of emails, published by newspaper on Wednesday, indicated Mandelson offered sympathy and backing to Epstein in 2008, as Epstein faced his initial conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Mandelson, a long-standing Labor Party figure and strategist, urged Epstein to “fight for early release” in legal appeals before Epstein received an 18-month prison sentence. “I think the world of you,” Mandelson reportedly told him before his sentence commenced.
PRINCE ANDREW, JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S FRIENDSHIP FUELED BY ‘MONEY AND SEX’: AUTHOR
During a statement in the House of Commons on Thursday, Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty confirmed that Mandelson’s dismissal occurred after the publication of the emails he sent to Epstein.
“In light of the additional details found in emails authored by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has requested the foreign secretary to recall him as ambassador,” stated the Foreign Office in an official announcement.
“The emails demonstrate that the depth and scope of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein substantially differ from what was known at the time of his appointment,” the statement further added.
These revelations emerged following last week’s release by on the U.S. House Oversight Committee of a 2003 birthday album compiled for Epstein. In this album, Mandelson referred to Epstein as “my best pal” in a handwritten message.
Within that same album, Mandelson had labeled Epstein “my best pal” in a handwritten note.
The disclosures prompted demands for action from opposition parties. The Conservatives and the Scottish National Party called for Mandelson’s resignation, while the Liberal Democrats pushed for an inquiry.
Mandelson was a pivotal figure in the Labor Party’s resurgence under Tony Blair.
In the 1990s, he was central to the rebranding of Labor as “New Labor,” working closely with Blair and Gordon Brown. He held significant Cabinet positions, including trade secretary and Northern Ireland secretary during Blair’s premiership, and business secretary under Gordon Brown.
He also served as the trade commissioner from 2004 to 2008, subsequently returning to domestic politics later that year as Lord Mandelson, a life peer in the House of Lords.
Most recently, Mandelson met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in May during the announcement of a limited U.S.–U.K. trade agreement.