UK PM Starmer sacks envoy to US over Jeffrey Epstein links

London, Sep 11 (PTI) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday sacked his Ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson, over scandalous emails linking him to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement in the House of Commons, Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty informed members of Parliament that Starmer had asked Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to withdraw Mandelson as the British Ambassador to Washington DC.

Doughty said the decision was taken after emails showed the “depth and extent” of the controversial Labour politician's relationship with Epstein, who died in a New York prison six years ago.

“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,” Doughty told Parliament.

“The emails show that the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment. In particular, Lord Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information,” he said.

“In the light of that and mindful, as we all are, of the victims of Epstein’s appalling crimes, Lord Mandelson has been withdrawn as Ambassador with immediate effect,” the minister added.

The Opposition Conservative Party dubbed it “an extraordinary error of judgment” by Starmer, who had defended Mandelson in the Commons on Wednesday as the first revelations around his email exchange with Epstein hit the headlines.

“The first thing that we all need to be clear on across this House is that the victims of Epstein are at the forefront of all our minds… Epstein was a despicable criminal who committed the most heinous crimes and destroyed the lives of so many women and girls,” Doughty stressed in the Commons.

The sacking follows Mandelson attempting to distance himself from ‘The Sun’ newspaper report of a message in a book on Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, where he described him as his “best pal”.

In interviews following the revelation, Mandelson said he regretted being misled by the convicted child sex offender and insisted he had never witnessed any “wrongdoing” during his association with Epstein. However, further damaging revelations in ‘The Daily Telegraph’ pointed to Mandelson having continued his association with Epstein despite criminal charges over soliciting a minor in 2008.

It led to many Labour government MPs joining ranks with Opposition MPs to call for his sacking, with some demanding an inquiry into the vetting process that led to Mandelson's appointment to represent the UK’s interests with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, called on Starmer to "come before Parliament and explain why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place".

"There are now serious questions over what Starmer knew and when. We deserve to know,” said Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

The 71-year-old peer, often referred to as a Labour Party grandee and political fixer, played a prominent role in the Tony Blair led government in the 1990s. However, he was forced to resign twice from the Blair Cabinet over a secret loan and then amid allegations of misconduct over a British passport application for the Indian-origin Hinduja brothers.

An inquiry later cleared him of wrongdoing in the latter case and eventually he moved into the field of lobbying in recent years. His networking skills and praise from Trump were among the factors that had won him the job of Ambassador to the US back in December 2024, which has now resulted in yet another scandalous political exit. PTI AK ZH ZH