UK ambassador under pressure to resign over Epstein 'best pal' birthday message

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — The United Kingdom’s ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson is facing calls to resign amid revelations he described Jeffrey Epstein as his “best pal” and remained friends after the convicted pedophile was released from prison.

The revelation, contained in documents released by U.S. lawmakers, has triggered a row in Parliament and pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his decision to appoint Mandelson to the post, with Labour MPs joining victims in calling for Mandelson to step down.

Starmer appointed Mandelson last year with a key brief of building ties with the Trump administration.

The letter, part of a 238-page album of birthday messages compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, was released Tuesday by the U.S. House Oversight Committee.

Mandelson has acknowledged more “embarrassing” correspondence is likely to emerge.

Speaking about the release of his message, the ambassador to the U.S. said he felt “a tremendous sense of regret” about his friendship with Epstein, calling the convicted pedophile a “charismatic criminal liar."

“I regret very, very deeply indeed carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done," Mandelson said.

Epstein helped Mandelson broker the $1.35 billion sale of a taxpayer-owned U.K. business while Mandelson was business secretary in 2010, just months after Epstein’s release from prison.

Victims and their lawyers say Mandelson should resign. Jack Scarola, who represents around 20 victims, said Mandelson “would need to be deaf, dumb and blind” not to have noticed Epstein’s behavior and should face questioning about what he knew.

Despite the new revelations, Starmer told Parliament he had “full confidence” in Mandelson and insisted that “full due process was followed during this appointment, as it is with all ambassadors.”

“The ambassador has repeatedly expressed his deep regret, he is right to do so, he’s now playing an important part in the U.S.-U.K. relationship," Starmer told Parliament.

Pressed by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, Starmer refused to say how much he knew of Mandelson’s ties to Epstein before the appointment.

Calls for Mandelson’s removal are mounting inside Labour.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a contender in the party’s deputy leadership race following the resignation of Angela Rayner, said Mandelson should face an investigation by the prime minister’s ethics adviser — a process that Rayner also went through.

“There should definitely be an investigation into it because there will be a huge amount of concern and if the outcome is that he should resign, he should,” she said.

Kim Johnson, a lawmaker in Labour, also backed Ribeiro-Addy’s demand.

Further correspondence between the ambassador and Epstein is expected to be released, maintaining the pressure on Mandelson. But the pressure is also on Starmer, who is resisting calls to sack him while preparing to host President Donald Trump on his second state visit to the U.K. next week when he will also meet with King Charles III.

Courthouse News correspondent James Francis Whitehead is based in England.

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