The British Prime Minister apologized for having "believed the lies" of his former ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, who was fired last September. The latter has since been under police investigation, suspected of having transmitted sensitive financial information to American sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

Published on: 02/05/2026 - 2:57 p.m.

The British Prime Minister in turmoil. Keir Starmer apologized on Thursday February 5 for appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite his links with sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, while his political future is threatened by the repercussions of this affair.

The head of the British government is facing an unprecedented crisis of confidence and authority, after new revelations on the links between sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein and former ambassador Peter Mandelson. The latter was appointed by Keir Starmer, then sacked last September after seven months in Washington.

The Labor leader apologized to Jeffrey Epstein's victims on Thursday, saying he was "sorry for believing (Peter) Mandelson's lies and naming him", during a speech in Hastings, eastern England.

“None of us knew the darkness of this relationship”

The day before, Keir Starmer had already admitted in Parliament that he was aware of links between the American sex criminal and Peter Mandelson, but accused his ex-ambassador of having "repeatedly lied" about the extent of these links.

“We had known for some time that Mandelson knew Epstein, but none of us knew the extent and darkness of this relationship,” he said Thursday.

Also read: Epstein affair: Trump, Gates, Musk... the personalities cited in the latest documents

Arriving at Downing Street in July 2024, Keir Starmer promised to put an end to the repeated scandals which marked the last years of conservative governments.

But in 18 months, he was forced to make numerous about-faces on his economic and social program and had to part ways with several ministers implicated in various affairs, all setbacks which significantly damaged his political credit and popularity.

“Chaotic government”

While for weeks rumors of maneuvers to replace him have multiplied, Labor MPs, quoted anonymously in the British press, no longer rule out the possibility of Keir Starmer's departure.

On Thursday, the newspapers wondered about his future in Downing Street, referring to a Prime Minister who is "fighting for his future" (The Times), in "serious danger" (Daily Mail) or even "isolated" (the i) in his own majority.

After the latest revelations from documents published by the US Department of Justice, Peter Mandelson is now under police investigation, suspected of having transmitted sensitive financial information to Epstein while he was a member of Gordon Brown's government between 2008 and 2010.

For the British, "this government is just as chaotic as the previous one", and "the Mandelson affair seems to further accentuate this phenomenon", underlines to AFP Luke Tryl, director for the United Kingdom of the More in Common think tank.

The crisis even caused the pound sterling to sway on Thursday, and the borrowing rate for British Treasury bonds to climb, awakening the memory of former Prime Minister Liz Truss, forced to resign in 2022 after alarming the markets.

A parliamentary commission on this appointment

The conservative opposition is also demanding the head of the chief of staff and closest adviser to the Prime Minister, Morgan McSweeney, accused of having pushed the candidacy of Peter Mandelson.

These difficulties come at a bad time for Keir Starmer, less than a month before a legislative by-election in the north-west of England and two months of high-risk local elections with the rise to power of Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK party.

The latter described the affair as "the biggest scandal in British politics for more than a century".

In its defense, the government claims to have respected the verification rules for the appointment of the former ambassador.

“The person responsible here is neither the Prime Minister nor his team. It is Peter Mandelson who lied, manipulated and deceived everyone,” Housing Minister Steve Reed, loyal to the Prime Minister, said on Sky News, dispatched to the media Thursday morning to defend the government's position.

On Wednesday, tension rose a notch during an electric debate in the House of Commons, around a motion tabled by the Conservatives to demand the publication of documents on the process of appointment and dismissal of Peter Mandelson.

After initially trying to restrict this publication, citing potential harm to national security, the government had to resolve - under pressure from its own MPs - to agree to transmit all the documents to a parliamentary committee.

Furious Labor MPs have criticized the Prime Minister's "error of judgement" and expressed "anger", and even "shame" at the government's handling of the matter.

With AFP

Keywords associated with the article

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.