Sir Keir Starmer is facing questions over what he knew about Lord Mandelson’s friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein before he was appointed as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
The PM sacked him on Thursday following the publication of messages he exchanged with Epstein in 2008, while the financier was facing charges for soliciting sex with a minor.
The government said the move followed the emergence of emails showing “the depth and extent” of the pair’s relationship, which was “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment”.
The Conservatives have called for all vetting advice, communications and documents related to Lord Mandelson’s appointment to be published.
In emails published by the Sun and Bloomberg on Wednesday evening, Lord Mandelson is reported to have told Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and told him, “I think the world of you” the day before he began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.
The prime minister’s spokesman said Sir Keir found the emails “reprehensible”.
On Wednesday Lord Mandelson said he “foolishly” relied on assurances of Epstein’s innocence, “which I regret to this day”.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the PM had “failed yet another key test of leadership”.
She pointed to Sir Keir giving his backing to Lord Mandelson during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
“He is a weak prime minister, who doesn’t have the courage to do the right thing at the right time,” she added.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the PM “needs to come before Parliament and explain why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place, given everything the government knew then”.
Lord Mandelson has written a letter to staff at the British embassy in Washington, saying being ambassador has been “the privilege of my life”.
He said he “deeply regrets” the circumstances around his departure and continues “to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein twenty years ago and the plight of his victims”.
“In a short time we have achieved so much,” he said.
“We leave the relationship with the US in a really good condition, with a magnificent state visit and the new US-UK Technology Partnership – my personal pride and joy that will help write the next chapter of the special relationship – set for next week.”
James Roscoe has taken over as interim ambassador to the US and will supervise next week’s state visit, Downing Street said.
He was made deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Washington in July 2022 and was previously UK ambassador to the UN General Assembly.
The decision to sack Lord Mandelson was made at a meeting on Thursday morning between the PM and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, the understands.
The has been told the information published on Wednesday evening was not available to those in government when Lord Mandelson was appointed, as they came from what has been described as a “long closed” email address.
Lord Mandelson also did not have access to them and the PM reviewed the material on Wednesday night.
Those in government continue to insist the normal vetting process was followed during the appointment of the ambassador.
Mandelson had generally been seen as doing a good job as ambassador to the US, not least because of his ability to work with the Trump administration.
However, questions over his past friendship with Epstein – which has long been public knowledge – have dogged him since his appointment by Sir Keir in December.
The pair’s friendship – and the fact it continued after the billionaire was convicted – was part of the PM’s calculation when he was deciding who to send to Washington as the UK’s ambassador.
“The Epstein stuff in broad terms was definitely known and discussed in detail before his appointment,” said one source.
Another insider said that as part of the Cabinet Office vetting process Lord Mandelson was “specifically asked about the association with Epstein” and he was “clear about it”.
News reports before his appointment showed contact between the pair even after Epstein’s conviction for the sexual abuse of underage girls.
However, Sir Keir made a calculation, alongside his top foreign affairs adviser Jonathan Powell and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, that Lord Mandelson’s talents outweighed the risks.
“If you look at his success in the role, the reasons for appointing him were vindicated,” said a friend of the peer.
“He’s been good on trade and built a strong relationship with the White House. He’s been exemplary.”
The friendship between Lord Mandelson and Epstein was thrown back into the spotlight on Tuesday, when US lawmakers released a number of documents which included a letter from Lord Mandelson in which he called Epstein his “best pal”.
The alleged “birthday book” given to Epstein in 2003 to celebrate his 50th birthday, also contained messages, cards and photos sent by his friends, including a letter carrying a signature resembling that of President Trump. Trump has denied writing the note.
Epstein was a well-connected financier who was convicted in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a person under the age of 18 in 2008. He died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Lord Mandelson has been in and out of British politics for four decades and was instrumental in the New Labour project which saw Tony Blair win the 1997 election with a huge landslide.
He was a minister in different departments in the government until 2010, when Labour lost power and during that time earned a reputation for bouncing back after twice being forced to resign his ministerial positions.
