UK fires ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson over his links to Jeffrey
Epstein
[September 12, 2025]
By PAN PYLAS
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday fired the
country's ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, over his
links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Just days before the arrival of President Donald Trump to the U.K. on
his second state visit, Starmer dismissed the veteran British politician
in the wake of the publication of emails that Mandelson sent to Epstein,
in which he gave his support to the disgraced financier, even when he
was facing jail for sex offenses.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told Parliament the emails
pointed to the “depth and extent” of Mandelson’s relationship with
Epstein being “materially different” from what was known when he was
appointed ambassador to Washington last year after the Labour Party’s
election victory.
In particular, Doughty pointed to Mandelson’s suggestion in one email
that Epstein’s first conviction in 2008 was “wrongful and should be
challenged.”
Mandelson took up his Washington post in February after what Starmer's
government described as an “extensive” vetting process. The diplomat has
voiced his deep regret over his previous links with Epstein and said he
knew nothing about his criminal activities.
“Being ambassador here has been the privilege of my life,” Mandelson
wrote in a letter to embassy staff that was reported by the BBC. “The
circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply
regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with
Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims."
The decision to fire Mandelson comes a day after Starmer said he had
“confidence” in him. It’s the latest blow to the prime minister ahead of
a state visit by Trump to the U.K. next week, which is likely to be met
with protests and some controversy.
Epstein took his own life in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial
on sex-trafficking charges, more than a decade after his initial
conviction.
Mandelson called Epstein his ‘best pal’
On Wednesday, The Sun newspaper published emails that it said showed
Mandelson telling Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before he
was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
“I think the world of you,” Mandelson reportedly told him before he
began his sentence in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Mandelson's links to Epstein came under scrutiny after the Democrats on
the House Oversight Committee released a 50th birthday album compiled in
2003 for Epstein that purportedly included a note from U.S. President
Donald Trump. In that album, Mandelson called Epstein “my best pal."
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Britain's Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, speaks
during a reception at the ambassador's residence on Feb. 26, 2025 in
Washington. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Starmer's latest headache
Last week Starmer's deputy, Angela Rayner, quit over a tax error on
a home purchase following days of speculation over her future.
Following Rayner’s resignation, Starmer carried out a major
reshuffle, a forced government reboot after a rocky 14 months in
office that have seen his popularity plunge.
“Mandelson might have gone but, just as with Angela Rayner, Starmer
dithered when he needed to be decisive," said Kemi Badenoch, leader
of the main opposition Conservative Party. "He has no backbone and
no convictions.”
Starmer now faces questions over his appointment of Mandelson, who
is no stranger to controversy, having twice resigned from former
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government in 1998 and 2001.
After his second resignation from Blair's government, Mandelson
became a European Commissioner when Britain was still in the
European Union, before returning to front line British politics in
2008 to serve under Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown.
The Mandelson brief
Mandelson’s trade expertise was considered a major asset in trying
to persuade the Trump administration not to slap heavy tariffs on
British goods, and seemed to pay off when the countries struck a
trade deal in May, though some details of the agreement have yet to
be finalized.
He is also a skilled -– critics say ruthless -– political operator
whose mastery of political intrigue earned him the nickname “Prince
of Darkness.”
It’s rare for a politician, rather than a career civil servant, to
be given a key U.K. ambassadorial post. Mandelson was not an obvious
choice as emissary to the Trump administration: he once called Trump
a “danger to the world," words he later said were “ill-judged and
wrong.”
The government said James Roscoe, the U.K. deputy head of mission in
Washington, will serve as interim ambassador and oversee Trump’s
state visit. Roscoe is a career diplomat and former communications
chief to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
____
Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
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