Feb 4, 2026, 9:52 p.mFeb 4, 2026, 9:54 p.m
The disgraced Peter Mandelson and Prime Minister Keir Starmer (archive photo, February 2025.Image: keystone
Why did British Prime Minister Keir Starmer appoint party veteran Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the US despite his known connections to Jeffrey Epstein? Critics of the head of government are hoping for answers to this question from documents on the appointment process. These should be published, as the House of Commons has now decided without any dissenting votes.
This plunges Labor politician Starmer, who is already ailing due to poor poll numbers, deeper into the crisis. Under pressure from the opposition and parts of his own group, he had already announced in parliament at midday that he wanted to publish the documents. He added that information that could harm the country’s national security or its international relations is excluded. The government managed to add a corresponding passage to the opposition’s draft resolution before the vote – but not without first making concessions to the selection process.
Mandelson was also called the “Prince of Darkness”.
Nevertheless, the development is a serious defeat for the Prime Minister, who actually has a solid majority in the House of Commons. A number of his party colleagues increased the pressure on the Prime Minister during the debate.
Former minister and EU Commissioner Mandelson took up his post almost a year ago. Because of his unscrupulous pursuit of power, he earned the nickname “Prince of Darkness.” And at the time, the scandal-prone 72-year-old was seen as a tactically astute choice to assert British interests with US President Donald Trump. But that was before the publication of Epstein files dominated headlines in the US.
“He lied, lied and lied again.”
Now Starmer emphasized that he regretted the decision. If he had known then what he knows today, Mandelson would not have come anywhere near the government, the Prime Minister asserted at the weekly question time in front of a full House of Commons with many serious faces in his own group.
However, the government was aware before his appointment as ambassador that Mandelson maintained contact with Epstein even after his conviction for the forced prostitution of a minor, as the prime minister had to admit. However, Mandelson misled him and others about the closeness of the relationship with the US multimillionaire. “He lied, lied and lied again,” said Starmer.
Close connection between Mandelson and Epstein
The former economics minister and EU commissioner Mandelson appears prominently in the Epstein files. The former Labor veteran’s closeness to the late US multimillionaire, who ran an abuse ring with victims, some of whom were underage, has already cost him his ambassadorship. He also recently resigned from the House of Lords and resigned from the Labor Party.
The files recently released by the US Department of Justice show that Mandelson was much closer to Epstein than initially known. He and his husband are said to have each received payments of tens of thousands of pounds.
Email histories even suggest that Mandelson may have passed on sensitive information to the US investor during the financial and economic crisis. At the time, Mandelson was sitting at the cabinet table of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown as economics minister and was considered his de facto deputy. The former head of government (2007-2010) was shocked by the latest findings and asked for an investigation.
The London police announced that they were investigating Mandelson. She called on the government not to publish any documents that could prejudice the investigation. (sda/dpa)