UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dismissed Peter Mandelson from his role as Britain’s ambassador to Washington following fresh revelations about his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The decision, announced by the Foreign Office on Thursday, comes after newly released emails showed Mandelson describing Epstein as his “best pal,” contradicting what was previously understood about their relationship.
A Foreign Office statement said the dismissal was made “in light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson,” adding that the depth and extent of his connections to Epstein were “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.” The announcement came just moments before ministers were due to face an urgent question in Parliament regarding Mandelson’s appointment.
The fallout follows the release of U.S. congressional documents in recent days, which detailed Mandelson’s correspondence with Epstein. In one letter, he acknowledged that more “embarrassing” exchanges between the two were likely to surface. Mandelson, who had played a significant role in fostering dialogue between Starmer’s government and Donald Trump during a sensitive period in US-UK relations, now exits under a cloud of political and diplomatic scandal.