UK PM says ex-envoy to US Mandelson ‘let his country down’ with Epstein ties

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday that ex-ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, had “let his country down” over his conduct surrounding convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his office said.

Starmer told his cabinet he was “appalled” about the revelations regarding Mandelson that emerged over the weekend, according to a Downing Street readout of the meeting.

“The alleged passing on of emails of highly sensitive government business was disgraceful,” the prime minister said, adding he was not yet “reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged” regarding Mandelson’s links with Epstein.

Starmer also said he has asked officials to draft legislation allowing the former ambassador’s position in Britain’s upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords, to be removed “as quickly as possible” and made it clear the government “would cooperate” with any police inquiries into the matter.

“For the public to see politicians saying they can’t recall receiving significant sums of money or not was just gobsmacking – causing them to lose faith in all politicians and weaken trust still further,” Starmer said.

The prime minister is facing mounting criticism of his initial decision to appoint Mandelson as ambassador to the US, before sacking him last September, less than a year into his post, over his ties to Epstein.

Meanwhile, the European Commission said Tuesday it will look into whether Mandelson, who served as the EU’s trade chief between 2004 and 2008, broke its code of conduct over his Epstein ties.

Mandelson — a back-room architect of Labour’s revival as an electoral force in the 1990s under Tony Blair — quit the party on Sunday to avoid causing it “further embarrassment” amid the slew of revelations.

Bank records released on Friday by US authorities suggested that in 2009, Mandelson, who was then business secretary, forwarded an economic briefing to Epstein intended for then-leader Gordon Brown, captioning it: “Interesting note that’s gone to the PM”.

Epstein also appeared to have transferred a total of $75,000 (55,000 pounds) in three payments to accounts linked to the top Labour politician between 2003 and 2004.

Mandelson, 72, told the BBC on Sunday he had no memory of the money transfers and did not know whether the documents were authentic.