Lord Peter Mandelson had faced pressure over his relationship with the disgraced paedophile after a note surfaced of him allegedly describing him as his ‘best pal’
Keir Starmer sacks Lord Mandelson as ambassador to US over Epstein friendship
Peter Mandelson has been dramatically sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US after further revelations over his links to disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Keir Starmer asked for him to be removed from the position after it emerged he coached Epstein through “years of torture” over underage sex charges. In 2008 the Labour veteran emailed Epstein: “Your friends stay with you and love you.” And he urged the banker to “fight for early release”.
The British Embassy in Washington said the emails show the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein is “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment”. Mr Starmer now faces questions about how much he knew and when he learned about the contents of the emails.
He held an emergency meeting with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper this morning, at which Lord Mandelson’s fate was sealed. That came just 24 hours after he defended the Ambassador at PMQs as the crisis deepened. His sacking comes just days before US President Donald Trump comes to the UK on a state visit.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs: “In light of additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister has asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador to the United States.
“The emails show that the depth and extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.”
Mr Doughty continued: “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 In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein’s crimes he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.”
Lord Mandelson told Epstein in 2008: “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.
“Everything can be turned into an opportunity and that [sic] you will come through it and be stronger for it. The whole thing has been years of torture and now you have to show the world how big a person you are, and how strong.”
And he wrote: “Your friends stay with you and love you.” Epstein said prosecutors were using “very bad info” and claimed to have passed a polygraph test.
In another email Lord Mandelson quoted ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu, who wrote a book named The Art of War. He said: “Reminder. You are fighting back so you need strategy, strategy, strategy. Remember the Art of War.”
Mr Mandelson only took up the most as the UK’s top diplomat to the Trump adminstration in February. On Thursday morning Home Office minister Mike Tapp said he “shuddered” when he heard what Lord Mandelson had written to Epstein.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was “completely disgusted” by the messages, while Mr Tapp said they “really disturbing and sickening”.
Former Labour MP Hariet Harman said: “It’s shameful that Peter Mandelson didn’t resign in the national interest and in the interest of the government, but he’s not that sort of person. So it was right that Keir Starmer sacked him.”
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: “The Prime Minister now needs to appoint an ambassador who will stand up to Trump, not cosy up to him and his cronies. “He also needs to come before Parliament and explain why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place, given everything the Government knew then.”
Despite the growing row over Lord Mandelson’s links with the late financier, the PM had given his full backing to the “Prince of Darkness” at at PMQs on Wednesday. Mr Starmer insisted “due process was followed” during the appointment, as calls grew for Lord Mandelson to go.
Lord Mandelson had earlier faced pressure over his relationship with the disgraced paedophile after a note surfaced of him allegedly describing him as his “best pal”. He said he finds such messages “very embarrassing to see and to read”.
He added that he feels “a tremendous sense, profound sense of sympathy for those people, those women who suffered as a result of his behaviour, and his illegal, criminal activities”.
The Mirror earlier reported that Epstein’s victims have demanded Lord Mandelson, 71, be stripped of his UK ambassadorship after his closeness to the billionaire sex offender was laid bare in explosive new government files.
Documents released by the US House Oversight Committee include Epstein’s notorious “birthday book” – a collection of letters, drawings, and candid snaps assembled in 2003 for his 50th birthday by his then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, now serving time for sex trafficking girls.
It is the third time he has quit a Government job in disgrace. In 1998 he resigned as trade and industry secretary over an undeclared £373,000 loan he had taken from wealthy colleague Geoffrey Robinson to buy a London house.
And in 2001 he resigned as Northern Ireland Secretary after it emerged he had contacted the Home Office on behalf of billionaire Indian-born businessman Srichand Hinduja, who was seeking British citizenship.
Asked how he feels to see his communications with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019, Lord Mandelson said: “I find them very embarrassing to see and to read. But as you said, they were written before he was indicted.
“But I just feel two things now. One, I feel a tremendous sense, profound sense of sympathy for those people, those women who suffered as a result of his behaviour, and his illegal, criminal activities. And secondly, I regret, very, very deeply indeed, carrying all that association with him for far longer than I should have done.”
Lord Mandelson was associated with Epstein for a “matter of years” after initially meeting him. But he insisted he “never, ever saw any evidence or sign for this activity which has since come to light”, adding: “That’s why I feel so profoundly upset by has been now revealed about what he did to women.”
Asked if he would have any problem with the so-called Epstein files being release, Lord Mandelson told The Sun: “I don’t believe I an named in the Epstein files. I have no doubt at all that there’s a lot of tragic correspondences between us… And we know those are going to surface. We know they’re going to come out. We know they’re going to be very embarrassing.”