UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dismissed Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, after new revelations about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Foreign Office confirmed on Thursday, September 11, 2025, that Mandelson was withdrawn from his post following the emergence of emails showing he defended Epstein during his 2008 conviction.
“The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment,” the statement said.
In the exchanges, published by The Sun and Bloomberg, Mandelson urged Epstein to “fight for early release”, telling him he was “following you closely and here whenever you need.” He also suggested Epstein’s conviction was wrongful and should be challenged.
One email read: “I think the world of you.” It was sent the day before Epstein began serving his 18-month prison sentence for procuring a child for prostitution.
Mandelson, 71, later told the BBC he had “relied on assurances of [Epstein’s] innocence that turned out to be horrendously false.”
The dismissal comes just days after Starmer said he still had “confidence” in Mandelson, despite public pressure from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Labour MPs such as Andy McDonald, who called his position “untenable.”
Mandelson, nicknamed the “Prince of Darkness” during his years as Labour’s spin doctor, had twice resigned from government in the late 1990s and early 2000s over misconduct scandals.
The veteran Labour figure was appointed ambassador to the US earlier this year with the task of strengthening ties with President Donald Trump.
His downfall deepened after reports revealed Mandelson once described Epstein as his “best pal” and an “intelligent, sharp-witted man” in a 2003 birthday tribute later submitted to a US congressional panel.
In a statement, Mandelson said he regretted “very deeply” having maintained ties with Epstein “for far longer than I should have done.”
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