British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has agreed to reveal the vetting process used by the ruling Labor Party to approve Peter Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the US in December 2024, following new revelations from Jeffrey Epstein’s files about the diplomat’s relationship with the billionaire sex offender.
For example, the latest release of files related to the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into Epstein revealed that Mandelson maintained a relationship with Epstein even after Epstein completed his sentence in 2008 for soliciting prostitution of a minor. But the allegations against Mandelson now center around allegations that he received payments from the deceased financier and may have shared market-sensitive information with Epstein that was financially important to Epstein.
Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019, before his trial stemming from a second sex crime indictment involving the alleged trafficking of dozens of girls.
On Thursday, Mr Starmer apologized to Mr Epstein’s victims for appointing Mr Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite knowing of his relationship with the disgraced financier.
“It has been publicly known for some time that Mr. Mandelson knew Mr. Epstein, but no one knew the depth and darkness of that relationship,” Starmer said.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did to you. I’m sorry that so many people in power have let you down. I’m sorry for believing Mr. Mandelson’s lies and appointing him.”
Who is Peter Mandelson and what is he accused of?
Since the latest portion of the Epstein files, including emails between Mr. Epstein and Mr. Mandelson, were made public on Friday, British media have widely reported that the government suspects that Mr. Mandelson may have illegally shared market-sensitive information with Mr. Epstein 15 years ago.
The newly released files include over 3 million pages of documents, over 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images.
A lifelong peer, Mr Mandelson, 72, served as a member of the House of Lords until he resigned this week. He is a veteran Labor politician who served in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from 1997 to 2010. After the Labor Party returned to power in 2024 after 14 years in opposition, he was appointed ambassador to the United States and took up his post on February 10 last year.
He resigned from the Labor Party on Sunday.
In a letter reported by British media, Mandelson said: “I regret and regret this further linking this weekend to the understandable uproar surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.”
“I don’t want to embarrass the Labor Party any further while this is happening, so I have decided to resign as a member of the party.”
Mandelson’s alleged leak of confidential information occurred in 2009, when he was Britain’s business secretary in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
This is not the first time Mr. Mandelson has been embarrassed by his friendship with Mr. Epstein. According to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO), Britain fired Mandelson as ambassador to the United States on September 11 over the emails between the two men.
On Tuesday, British police launched a criminal investigation into Mr. Mandelson on suspicion of misconduct in office related to his relationship with Mr. Epstein.
In the UK, misconduct in public office is punishable by up to life in prison.
In addition to being sacked as ambassador, Mandelson has also been forced to resign from his cabinet positions twice, in 1998 and 2001, over allegations of misconduct.
Who is Jeffrey Epstein?
Epstein was a billionaire investor who was born and raised in New York and was known for his interactions with celebrities and politicians.
A criminal investigation revealed that he may have abused hundreds of girls over the course of his storied career. He was arrested in 2019 on federal criminal charges related to alleged exploitation of underage girls dating back 20 years. He died in prison before being tried.
He is also accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2005 after her parents called police. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from a minor in connection with one victim.
He spent 13 months in prison on a work release program that allowed him to leave prison during the day to go to work and return at night.
The U.S. attorney in Manhattan also charged Mr. Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, with being an accomplice in the sexual abuse scheme. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, with a sentence set for 2022.
What do we know about Mandelson and Epstein’s relationship?
When Mr Mandelson was removed as ambassador to the US in September, the FCDO wrote: “In view of the additional information in the email written by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister has asked the Foreign Secretary to remove him as ambassador.”
“The emails demonstrate that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is significantly different from what was known at the time of his appointment.”
These particular emails were obtained and published by Britain’s The Sun newspaper in September. In one, Mandelson told Epstein to “fight for early release” just before he was sentenced in 2008.
“I think it’s your world,” Mandelson told Epstein before sentencing.
“I still barely understand it. That can’t happen in Britain,” Mandelson wrote. “You have to be incredibly resilient and fight for early release and be as philosophical as possible about it.”
The latest portion of the Epstein file now reveals that Mandelson continued his friendship with Epstein long after he was convicted of sex crimes.
What will the new Epstein files reveal?
Bank records show that between 2003 and 2004, Epstein made three payments totaling $75,000 to accounts connected to Mandelson or his partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva. Mr Mandelson said he had no recollection of receiving any such funds and promised to investigate whether the documents were genuine.
The documents show that in 2009, Epstein transferred da Silva 10,000 pounds ($13,607, or $20,419 today after inflation) to pay for an osteopathic course. “In hindsight, it was clearly a collective error of judgment on our part for Reynaldo to accept this offer,” Mandelson told the Times of London this week.
Emails revealed in the latest set of US Justice Department files also shed light on the close friendship between the two men.
In October 2009, Mr. Epstein wrote in an email to Mr. Mandelson: “You can marry Princess Beatrice and the Queen will have a grandchild, the Queen,” referring to former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughter. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor successfully sued Mountbatten-Windsor after he was stripped of his royal title last year over his relationship with Epstein and allegations of sexual abuse by Virginia Giuffre.
“How exciting that would be incest,” Epstein wrote.
In 2010, Leslie Groff, known as Mr. Epstein’s longtime executive assistant, emailed her boss to say, “Mr. Mandelson’s vacation plans are still being finalized. We look forward to hearing from you soon.”
In 2013, Epstein emailed Mandelson saying he knew Mandelson was visiting St. Petersburg, Russia. Mr Mandelson described the town as a “rave”, but Mr Epstein asked: “Is it for homosexuals?” Mandelson replied, “No, it’s delicious.” [sic] Modeling and dancing. ”
But the emails also suggested that Mr. Mandelson passed confidential information to financiers.
On May 9, 2010, Mr. Mandelson emailed Mr. Epstein: [sic]” The next morning, European governments approved a 500 billion euro bailout of banks in response to the global financial crisis.
Also in May 2010, Mr. Mandelson sent an e-mail to Mr. Epstein saying, “I was finally allowed to go today.” It is believed Mr Mandelson was referring to former Labor Prime Minister Brown.
Mr. Epstein responded to this email: “I believe. The value of some chapters of your book should go up from now on.”
Brown announced his resignation just hours after the email exchange.
What did Starmer say?
Mr Starmer this week agreed to release information about how Mr Mandelson was appointed ambassador in 2024, amid growing pressure from opposition politicians and within his own party.
During Wednesday’s House of Commons question-and-answer session dominated by the Epstein revelations, Mr. Starmer acknowledged knowing about Mr. Mandelson’s friendship with Mr. Epstein, but said that Mr. Mandelson “repeatedly lied to my team before and during his time as ambassador when asked about his relationship with Mr. Epstein.”
“Mr Mandelson has betrayed our country, our parliament and our party,” Starmer said. “I regret appointing him. If I had known then what I know now, he would never have approached the government.”
Mr Starmer said he would ensure that “all material” was released, except for documents that jeopardized Britain’s national security, international relations or police investigations into Mr Mandelson’s activities.
On Tuesday, Mr Starmer told ministers he was “appalled by the information” about Mr Mandelson and feared further details would emerge, according to a Downing Street cabinet report.
Starmer also said he had ordered civil servants to “urgently” investigate all contacts between Mandelson and Epstein while in government.
“It is a disgrace to be accused of having released highly confidential government emails,” Starmer said, adding: “I am not yet convinced that the full extent of the information is known.”
What impact will this have on Starmer?
Members of Congress expressed their regret and called on him to resign.
Conservative MP Luke Evans said: [Starmer] Having made the decision to appoint Mr Mandelson to the post of ambassador, Mr Mandelson must explain his decision-making process. ”
Alex Burgert, shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “There is no doubt that the Prime Minister’s judgment is being severely questioned at this time. It is becoming increasingly difficult to see how we can trust his judgment in the future.”
Conservative MP Graham Stewart added: “The fact is that we have appointed someone who has broken all of the Nolan Principles, both before and after his appointment. I think that makes his position untenable.”
The Nolan Principles are a set of ethical standards for all public servants in the UK.
Conservative MP Esther McVeigh said: “Today is Starmer’s downfall. His poor judgment is ruining this country and the Labor Party.”
What do we know about how Mandelson was confirmed as US ambassador?
Starmer, who faced questioning from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch in the House of Commons in September, insisted that “full due process” had been followed in relation to Mandelson’s appointment.
Mr. Mandelson’s relationship with Mr. Epstein, who is said to have given Mr. Mandelson the nickname “Petey,” has been publicly known for years.
However, the Times of London reported that Mr Starmer received only a two-page review memo from the Cabinet Office’s suitability and ethics team regarding Mr Mandelson’s appointment.
The documents suggest that Mr. Mandelson stayed at Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse while Mr. Epstein was in prison in 2009. The report also included a photo of Mandelson and Epstein together.
This shows that by late 2024, the British government had obtained documents showing that Mr Mandelson continued to have a close relationship with Mr Epstein even after his 2008 conviction.
