LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday said he regretted naming Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, as the UK leader was set to release documents linked to the appointment following fresh allegations about the Labour politician´s close ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
“He´s betrayed our country, he´s lied repeatedly, he´s responsible for a litany of deceit, but this moment demands not just anger, but action,” Starmer told parliament. Starmer said he did know about Mandelson´s ongoing ties to Epstein, and he accused the former minister and EU trade commissioner of failing “time and time again” to reveal the full extent of their relationship during the vetting for the Washington role last year.
The government agreed to release all documents in connection to the appointment to the parliament´s Intelligence and Security Committee, following growing anger from the opposition and some of Starmer´s own Labour party members. The motion to release the documents will likely be voted on later on Wednesday.
The prime minister´s judgement is under immense scrutiny following new allegations that his former top envoy in the United States had passed confidential information to the late US sex offender Epstein nearly two decades ago.
UK police have announced they are now probing the claims, which emerged from email exchanges between the pair shining a light on the extent of their warm relations, financial dealings as well as private photos.
Around that time, Epstein was serving an 18-month jail term for soliciting a minor in Florida while Mandelson was a UK government minister under then-leader Gordon Brown. “He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador,” Starmer told MPs during a parliamentary grilling.
“I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.” For decades a pivotal and often divisive figure in British politics, Mandelson has had a chequered career and has twice resigned from government for alleged misconduct. Starmer then sacked him as ambassador in September after only seven months in post following an earlier Epstein files release.
