UK PM Starmer under fire after BBC report on knowledge of Mandelson’s Epstein ties

The British government has recalled its ambassador to the United States, Lord Peter Mandelson, over his "inexplicable" links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who has been entangled in court cases over human trafficking and sexual misconduct with minors before his death.

In their latest article, the BBC has revealed that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had raised Epstein-related concerns with Mandelson prior to his appointment to Washington, sparking renewed questions about what was known at the time.

The prime minister reportedly posed three questions—sent via his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney—about Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein after initial vetting highlighted the connection, their investigation reports.

According to the BBC article, the questions asked why Mandelson maintained contact with Epstein after his conviction; why he was reported to have stayed at one of Epstein’s residences while Epstein was in prison; and whether he had any involvement with a charity linked to Ghislaine Maxwell and backed by Epstein.

Court filings from 2023 indicated that Epstein had told his private banker that Mandelson was planning to stay at his home, though Mandelson has never directly confirmed or denied this.

Downing Street sources told the BBC that Mandelson had been "economical with the truth" in his responses. Nonetheless, his answers were deemed sufficient for his appointment, triggering a further “developed vetting” (DV) process overseen by the Foreign Office.

The disclosures now increase pressure on Starmer, as his office insists that while Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein was known, fresh details only emerged this week. Mandelson was dismissed on September 11, one day after a damning article published by Bloomberg which uncovered a trove of emails.

Among them were messages sent after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea for soliciting a minor. In one, Mandelson urged him to "fight for early release," and in another, on the eve of Epstein’s prison term, he wrote: "I think the world of you."

Notably, these emails were absent from both vetting processes conducted within Whitehall. The Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Ethics Team had prepared a file on Mandelson’s ties to Epstein for Starmer’s review, as the article argues.

By Nazrin Sadigova