British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, who was later dismissed by him, in the House of Commons, despite the fact that the Prime Minister’s office at that time already knew about the compromising correspondence between him and Jeffrey Epstein, accused of sexual exploitation of minors, the Times newspaper writes, citing sources.
On Thursday, Mandelson was fired from his post due to his ties to Epstein. Starmer asked Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper to recall Mandelson from his post as ambassador to the United States. According to the Times, the Foreign Office received the details of the emails on Tuesday and forwarded them to the Prime Minister’s residence two days before the prime minister made the decision to dismiss the ambassador.
“Keir Starmer defended Lord Mandelson in the House of Commons, even though Downing Street and the Foreign Office already knew about the compromising email correspondence between him and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein,” the newspaper said.
James Roscoe, Mandelson’s deputy, was appointed interim ambassador. The media notes that Starmer will probably have to rush to appoint a new ambassador, as US President Donald Trump will arrive in Britain on a state visit in a week.
Earlier, the Sun wrote that the current British ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, in 2008 assured the infamous financier Jeffrey Epstein of the “love of friends” against the background of the case against Epstein about forcing an underage girl into prostitution. The publication notes that shortly before Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison after a plea bargain, Mandelson urged him to “fight for early release.” Mandelson expressed anger in the letters about the trial against Epstein in the United States and urged the financier to treat him “philosophically.”