UK removes Lord Mandelson as US ambassador over Epstein revelations

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has removed Lord Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States after newly revealed messages and correspondence showed a closer and more supportive relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein than was previously known, officials said on Thursday. Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that the prime minister had asked the foreign secretary to withdraw Lord Mandelson in light of additional information contained in emails and a 2003 birthday book released this week.

Doughty said the material showed that the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein was materially different from what had been understood at the time of his appointment. In particular, he noted new information suggesting Lord Mandelson had questioned Epstein’s first conviction and encouraged legal challenges. Other messages reported to have been published include exchanges from 2008 in which Lord Mandelson wrote that “your friends stay with you and love you” and urged Epstein to “fight for early release” as he faced sentencing for soliciting a minor.

The disclosures follow the release by US lawmakers of a 2003 album compiled for...