British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he regretted appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, saying the Labor veteran “repeatedly” lied and misrepresented his ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson, who was sacked in September after seven months in the job, is accused of passing on market-sensitive information that was of clear financial interest to Epstein while serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown government between 2008 and 2010.
In Parliament on Wednesday, Starmer said the latest revelations about Mandelson were “beyond infuriating,” and that the former ambassador had “lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein.”
He added, “I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”
“Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party,” said Starmer, leader of the Labor Party.
The British PM ceded to pressure from the opposition Conservative Party to release documents on how Mandelson was appointed, and was forced to water down an attempt to limit the scope of that disclosure after facing a revolt in his own Labor Party.
In a 2003 message for his 50th birthday, Mandelson had described Epstein as his “best pal.”
British police said on Tuesday they have launched an investigation into Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office following the release of millions of documents related to Epstein.
Asked in parliament whether vetting carried out before Mandelson's appointment had mentioned that the Labor veteran and Epstein had had an ongoing relationship, Starmer replied: “Yes, it did. As a result, various questions were put to him.”
He then said Mandelson had lied throughout the process and that related documents would show this.
