Starmer apologises over Mandelson appointment as Epstein ties resurface

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has apologised to victims of Jeffrey Epstein after appointing Peter Mandelson as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States, despite Mandelson’s longstanding links to the late sex offender.

Speaking from southern England on Thursday, Starmer said the scale of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein had not been fully understood at the time of the appointment. “It had been publicly known for some time that Mandelson knew Epstein, but none of us knew the depth and the darkness of that relationship,” Starmer said.

Mandelson was appointed to the Washington post in December 2024, a decision that has come back to haunt the prime minister as new information has emerged in recent weeks. In an unusually direct statement, Starmer addressed Epstein’s victims personally.

“I am sorry,” he said. “Sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you, sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointing him.”

Starmer dismissed Mandelson from the ambassadorial role last September, after emails were published showing that Mandelson had continued a friendship with Epstein even after Epstein’s 2008 US conviction for sex offences involving minors. At the time, the firing appeared to draw a line under the issue. That sense of closure did not last.

Pressure intensified again last week when the US Justice Department released new files detailing the closeness of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein. The documents suggested Mandelson may have leaked government papers to Epstein and that Epstein had logged payments to Mandelson or to his then-partner, now his husband.

Mandelson is now under police investigation for alleged misconduct in public office. He has said he does not recall receiving any payments and has not commented publicly on claims that he leaked official documents. He has also not responded to media requests for comment.

The fallout has left Starmer facing growing criticism over his judgement. He had previously promised to publish the vetting advice he received before appointing Mandelson. On Thursday, however, he said he was constrained by a police request not to release material that could prejudice an ongoing investigation.

Even so, Challands cautioned that the scandal has not yet reached the point where Starmer’s position is immediately untenable. “For him to go, we would have to see more rumblings from key government ministers, perhaps resignations, perhaps some of them sticking their heads over the parapet,” he said. “We’re not seeing that at the moment.”