British Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with Britain's ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP, file)
The Keir Starmer government in the United Kingdom (UK) has agreed to release emails and other documents on the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, despite his well-documented ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson, a former Labour MP and minister, also served as the UK’s Ambassador to the US from February to September 2025.
“I intend to make sure that all of the material is published,” PM Starmer told lawmakers after the opposition Conservative Party said it would force a vote in Parliament calling for the release of emails and other messages related to Mandelson’s appointment in 2024.
According to Starmer, Mandelson had “lied repeatedly” to officials about his relationship with Epstein, and had “betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party.”
“I regret appointing him,” Starmer said in the House of Commons. “If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”
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72-year-old Mandelson, who had a controversial political career which saw him resign from the Cabinet twice, over scandals, was appointed as the UK’s Ambassador to the US, nearly a month after Donald Trump retuned to office for the first time.
President Donald Trump, gets a reaction from Britian’s ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, right, as they take questions from members of the media after announcing a trade deal between U.S. and U.K. in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)
This was despite Mandelson’s proximity to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which had been known since 2019. However, Mandelson’s role as the UK’s Ambassador was cut short in September 2025 following the publication of emails between him and Epstein.
In 2009, he appears to have told Epstein he would lobby other members of the government to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses, and passed on an internal government report discussing a potential sale of U.K. government assets. The following year he appears to have tipped off Epstein about an imminent bailout of the European single currency.
The newly released files also suggest that in 2003-2004, Epstein sent three payments totaling $75,000 to accounts linked to Mandelson or his partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva.
Following the revelations, Mandelson resigned from the House of Lords and faces a police investigation for alleged misconduct in public office, for which, if found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with Britain's ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP, file) 
