British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has admitted that he was aware that his mentor and former Ambassador to the United States, Lord Mandelson, had a relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but claimed that he was misled over the extent of the ties.
Taking to the dispatch box on Wednesday afternoon as he fights for his political life, Prime Minister Starmer attempted to shift blame for the disastrous decision to appoint veteran former Tony Blair spin doctor Lord Peter ‘Prince of Darkness’ Mandelson as his ambassador to Washington.
Starmer admitted that he was aware that Mandelson had continued his relationship with deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein after serving prison time for child sex offences. This followed opposition Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who noted during PMQs that a Financial Times journalist had informed Starmer in 2024 that Mandelson had stayed at Epstein’s house after the conviction.
While the PM acknowledged he knew about the links, he claimed he was unaware of the “sheer depth and extent of the relationship” between the two men, The Times reported.
“He lied about that to everyone for years. New information was published in September showing the relationship was materially different to what we’d been led to believe. When the new information came to light, I sacked him,” Starmer said.
“If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been appointed [as ambassador to Washington],” the prime minister added.
Renewed scrutiny has been placed on the decision to appoint Mandelson in the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice releasing millions of documents related to the Epstein case, including emails between the paedophile money man and the British political operative.
According to the files, Mandelson allegedly used his former position as business secretary under the Gordon Brown Labour government in 2009 to provide Epstein with confidential, potentially market-moving insider information, including advance notice of an impending €500 billion bailout.
The tranche of documents also appeared to show Mandelson receiving $75,000 (£55,000) in direct payments from Epstein, who also seemingly paid Mandelson’s husband £10,000 in 2009.
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday evening that it has opened a criminal investigation into Lord Mandelson over potential misconduct while in office. This came shortly after Mandelson resigned from his House of Lords seat.
While the longtime Labour Party spin doctor, who served prominently in all Labour governments this century, has resigned from the party, it is unlikely to do much to quell the budding scandal.
During the heated exchange in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch questioned whether the prime minister still has confidence in his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who is said to have been a driving force behind the decision to appoint Mandelson as U.S. ambassador.
“We know there will be a cover-up because this implicates the prime minister and Morgan McSweeney,” Badenoch said.
Although the PM said that McSweeney remains an “essential part” of his team, time will tell if the Downing Street power broker may be thrown to the wolves in order to save Starmer’s skin. The scale of discontent over the matter even among Starmer’s own Labour Party is becoming clear as his attempt to limit what Mandelson documents would be released for parliamentary scrutiny were subject to a u-turn on Wednesday afternoon in the face of a backbench rebellion.
Indeed, even before the Epstein scandal, Starmer was said to be on the ropes, with his approval ratings plummeting since taking power last year and multiple rumoured leadership challenges splashed across the London press. Previously, the upcoming May elections were seen as being make-or-break for his premiership; however, it remains to be seen if the embattled Labour leader will manage to cling to power until then.
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