Pressure is growing against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his previous appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, despite his links to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. This Thursday, February 5, Starmer apologized to the victims of the deceased sexual predator, while some legislators are calling for his resignation. The premier maintains that, although he knew of the friendship between the two men, he did not know the scope of that relationship, revealed in new files declassified by the US Department of Justice.

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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, faced a dissatisfied Parliament this Thursday, February 5, even among his own political group, over the appointment in 2025 of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, despite the fact that the relations between the then official and the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were already known.

"It had been publicly known for some time that Mandelson knew Epstein, but none of us knew the depth and darkness of that relationship," defended the premier.

The declassification of almost all of the files of the Epstein case, which culminated last week, revealed emails between the diplomat and the sexual predator, which depict a close relationship between the two. In addition, the files suggest Mandelson leaked sensitive government information from Epstein and that he would have received payments of $75,000 in his name or that of his then partner, now husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva.

"He repeatedly lied to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador"

The now-former ambassador, who has not publicly commented on the document leak allegations, has previously maintained that he does not remember receiving payments from Epstein.

But Starmer accused the former minister and former EU Trade Commissioner of refusing "time and time again" to reveal the full extent of his relationship with Epstein, within the framework of the investigation prior to his appointment as ambassador to Washington in 2025.

"He repeatedly lied to my team when they asked him about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador," Starmer said during questioning in Parliament, before detailing that Mandelson "portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew."

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"They asked her if she had stayed at Epstein's home after his conviction and, when more information was subsequently revealed, they asked her if she had accepted gifts and hospitality, and if she had been completely transparent about the relationship. The information now available makes it clear that her answers were lies," Starmer noted.

Read alsoThe fall of Mandelson due to the Epstein case: he resigns from the House of Lords and is under investigation

"I share people's anger when powerful individuals seem to escape scrutiny"

The Labor leader's government agreed to present to Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee all documents related to Mandelson's appointment, including interviews prior to taking up the position as ambassador in Washington.

However, the prime minister detailed this Thursday that the Police warned him that the dissemination of these files could harm the investigations.

"I understand the strength of public sentiment; I share the anger people feel when powerful individuals seem to escape scrutiny. I want to be able to publish these documents as soon as possible," Starmer stressed before his country's Legislature.

The British Prime Minister commented that his Labor Party colleagues are also "frustrated that the full information of what (Mandelson) was asked and answered when he was appointed cannot be in the public domain."

Mandelson, subject to a criminal investigation, resigned on February 3 from his life seat in the House of Lords. In addition, he resigned from the Labor Party so as not to “cause further embarrassment.”

“In this country we will not look the other way,” Starmer highlighted this Thursday, to communicate that the British government will actively collaborate with the ongoing investigations.

Read alsoBritish Premier asks Mandelson to resign from life position in the House of Lords due to the Epstein case

Confidence crisis

Starmer changed his tone in the middle of his speech this Thursday in Parliament to directly address the victims of Jeffrey Epstein:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for what they did to you, I'm sorry that so many people in power have failed you. I'm sorry for believing Mandelson's lies and naming him and I'm sorry that even now you are forced to witness this story publicly once again," Starmer said, addressing the victims.

But the words did not seem to convince the leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, who held a press conference after Starmer's, in which she sharply reproached the prime minister for Mandelson's appointment.

"What he should apologize for is ignoring the security advice and investigation that showed him that Mandelson should never have been named in the first place," Badenoch stressed to reporters in central London.

Within the Labor Party there are also fingers pointing at the prime minister, such as that of MP Paula Barker. "I think the prime minister has shown that his judgment is questionable (...) He has a long way to go to rebuild public trust and trust within our party," he predicted.

Read alsoEpstein files: US Department of Justice censorship failures expose victims

More than a former ambassador

Peter Mandelson has been one of the most prominent figures in British politics identified among the network of contacts of Jeffrey Epstein, declared dead in prison in 2019 before being sentenced in a trial for sex trafficking and child abuse. However, years earlier he had already been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

At 72 years old, Mandelson has been an important figure—and not without controversy—in the Labor Party since the 1990s. He was minister without portfolio in Tony Blair's Government and in charge of the Business and Trade office during Gordon Brown's.

His ability to exert influence outside the public spectrum earned him the nickname "Prince of Darkness." Thus, he was appointed as the main spokesperson for the Donald Trump Administration, also supported by his commercial experience and his network of contacts.

Before his resignation as ambassador, he had to resign twice from senior positions due to scandals over money or ethics. The first of them in 1998, when he left his position as a cabinet minister after the revelation of a secret loan of 373,000 pounds for the purchase of a home.

In 2001, he resigned as British Minister for Northern Ireland after being accused of helping an Indian businessman obtain a passport in exchange for one million pounds, in an investigation in which he was found not guilty.

Mandelson was removed from his diplomatic post in September 2025, after his name first emerged in the archives, referring to Epstein as his “best friend.”

At the time when Mandelson would have received the money transfers, Epstein was serving an 18-month prison sentence, between 2008 and 2009, for soliciting sex with a minor in Florida, while the British man was a government minister.

Read alsoEpstein Files: Gates claims she only attended dinners with the pedophile, while Trump asks to turn the page

With Reuters, AP and local media

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