UK Ambassador to U.S. Fired Over Jeffrey Epstein Links

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed the country's ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, on Thursday following revelations about his past correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty said newly published emails showed the "depth and extent" of Mandelson's relationship with Epstein was "materially different" from what was known when he was appointed last year. "In light of the additional information in the emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador to the United States," Doughty said.

The decision follows the release of emails this week, in which Mandelson encouraged Epstein to "fight for early release" before his 2008 sentencing for soliciting prostitution from a minor and wrote, "I think the world of you" shortly before Epstein began his 18-month prison term.

Speaking to the BBC before his dismissal, Mandelson said he felt "a tremendous sense of regret" over his friendship with Epstein and "a tremendous sense of sympathy" for Epstein's victims, while maintaining he "never saw any wrongdoing." He told the BBC he had relied on assurances of Epstein's innocence from the financier's lawyers, saying, "I foolishly relied on their word, which I regret to this day."

Labour MP Andy McDonald told BBC Radio 4 there was "widespread revulsion" within the party over Mandelson's links to Epstein and called for his resignation, stating, "If he doesn't do the right thing and resign today, then the prime minister should sack him."

Home Office Minister Mike Tapp described the emails as "disturbing" and said they made him "shudder." While the government initially defended Mandelson's role, citing his contributions to U.K.-U.S. trade and defense relations, pressure intensified within Parliament, with Conservative MPs also demanding his removal.