UK PM Starmer fights back over sacking of his envoy to US

London, Sep 15 (PTI) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday fought back against a growing challenge to his leadership from the Opposition Tories and his own Labour Party backbenchers over the sacking of Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US.

Starmer admitted being aware of damaging emails that indicated Mandelson's close ties with convicted American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, the Prime Minister stressed that he was not aware of the “nature and extent” of the veteran Labour Party politician's relationship with Epstein, who died in a New York prison six years ago.

"Had I known then what I know now, I'd have never appointed him,” Starmer told reporters from 10 Downing Street.

“What emerged last week were Bloomberg emails which showed that the nature and extent of the relationship that Peter Mandelson had with Epstein was far different to what I had understood to be the position when I appointed him,” he said.

“On top of that, what the email showed was he was not only questioning but wanting to challenge the conviction of Epstein at the time that, for me, went and cut across the whole approach that I’ve taken on violence against women and girls for many years, and this government's approach,” he stated.

Questioned over why he chose to stand by his envoy in Parliament even after extracts of Mandelson's exchange with Epstein were published, Starmer said he was awaiting answers to more detailed questions he had put to the now-fired ambassador.

"It was only very late on Wednesday when Peter Mandelson replied to the questions that had been put to him by government officials. And it was on that, basically, I took my decision that he should be removed,"he said.

Starmer claimed that before the Prime Minister's Questions session last week, during which he told the House of Commons that Mandelson was “playing an important part in the UK-US relationship”, he had not yet received the responses due to a time lag between the two countries.

The scandal coming close on the heels of the resignation of Angela Rayner as his deputy prime minister over underpaid property tax has cast a shadow over Starmer’s future as Labour leader. His own backbench MPs have called his judgment into question, with the Opposition parties seeing it as their opportunity to go after the government.

Over the weekend, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of covering up what he knew about Mandelson’s links to Epstein and said he had “very serious questions to answer”.

The fiasco has been playing out at a particularly inopportune time for Downing Street, which is preparing for a historic second State Visit of Donald Trump on the invitation of King Charles III this week.  The US President and First Lady Melania Trump are set to arrive on Tuesday evening before receiving a grand welcome at the royal residence of Windsor Castle. They will be greeted with a ceremonial guard of honour at the Castle, where they are being hosted by the King, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales – William and Kate.

Trump will address a state banquet with tech entrepreneurs and senior Cabinet ministers on Wednesday evening before travelling to the prime ministerial retreat of Chequers on Thursday for a business reception, working lunch and press conference with Starmer.

The British PM will be hoping the customary pomp and ceremony of a State Visit will prove enough to distract from the scandal of losing his ambassador to America just days before. PTI AK ZH