Keir
Starmer sacks Peter Mandelson over Jeffrey Epstein ties
Foreign
Office says extent of US ambassador’s friendship with disgraced financier not
disclosed when he was appointed
Rowena
Mason Whitehall editor
Thu 11
Sep 2025 11.15 BST
Keir
Starmer has sacked Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US over his association
with Jeffrey Epstein.
The
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that Mandelson had not
disclosed the extent and depth of his friendship with Epstein, a convicted
child sex offender, when he was appointed as the ambassador.
He said
No 10 had not known about emails from Mandelson to Epstein suggesting his 2008
conviction for soliciting a child for prostitution was wrongful and should be
challenged.
A Foreign
Office spokesperson said: “In light of the additional information in emails
written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary
to withdraw him as ambassador.
“The
emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with
Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his
appointment. In particular, Peter Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s
first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.
“In light
of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein’s crimes, he has been withdrawn
as ambassador with immediate effect.”
Before
Mandelson’s departure was announced, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, told
an event that he was “completely disgusted” by messages Lord Peter Mandelson
sent to Epstein and that his future was “a decision for the prime minister”.
Mandelson’s
departure comes at a difficult time for No 10 as it prepares a state visit for
the US president, Donald Trump, who is facing his own questions about his
friendship with Epstein.
The
episode will raise questions about Starmer’s judgment in having appointed
Mandelson, given it was known that the ambassador had continued his association
with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction.
Starmer
had on Wednesday at prime minister’s questions stood behind Mandelson,
insisting the ambassador had been fully vetted.
However,
Mandelson faced overwhelming pressure to go after it emerged that he told
Epstein to fight for early release from jail as the disgraced financier faced
an 18-month sentence for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a
prostitute in 2008.
The
emails were published by the Sun after circulating in Washington DC, hours
after Mandelson admitted on Tuesday that more “very embarrassing” details of
his friendship with Epstein were likely to emerge. He insisted he had never
witnessed any “wrongdoing”.
In an
email from June 2008, which was not disputed by his spokesperson, Mandelson
wrote to Epstein: “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious
about what has happened.
“I can
still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain. You have to be
incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as
much as you can.”
It
continued: “Everything can be turned into an opportunity and that you will come
through it and be stronger for it.”
The
friendship between the two men came under a renewed spotlight after Democratic
members of the US House oversight committee released Epstein’s 50th “birthday
book”, in which Mandelson called him “my best pal” in a handwritten note.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário