Epstein links bring shocking end to Trump ambassador role

The U.K.’s ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, has been fired over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement on Thursday, the U.K.’s Foreign Office minister, Stephen Doughty, said Mandelson had concealed the “depth and extent” of his relationship with Epstein when the 71-year-old was appointed as U.S. ambassador in February.

Mandelson’s dismissal comes after the emergence of emails in which he reportedly told Epstein “your friends stay with you and love you”, as the disgraced financier faced up to prison time for child-prostitution offenses in 2008.

“Materially different”

“In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador to the United States,” Doughty told the U.K.’s House of Commons.

“The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.

“In particular, Peter Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information. In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein’s appalling crimes, he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.”

“Fight for early release”

According to the leaked correspondence from the late 2000s, which was published by Bloomberg and the Sun this week, Mandelson told Epstein: “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.

“I can still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain. You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.”

At a Florida state court in June 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to charges of felony solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution. He went on to serve just over a year of an 18-month sentence.

A decade later, in August 2019, Epstein died by suicide in jail in New York, having been arrested and charged with the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York.

“My best pal”

This week’s email revelations came shortly after Democrats in U.S. Congress released a collection of letters allegedly written to Epstein by numerous prominent figures - including Mandelson - for the financier’s 50th birthday in 2003.

Among the letters is a note, purportedly from Mandelson, referring to Epstein as “my best pal”.

The “birthday book” also includes a note allegedly written by the U.S. president, Donald Trump, which appears to feature a drawing of the outline of a woman’s body. The letter includes the line: “May every day be another wonderful secret.”

The White House has denied that President Trump wrote the letter, whose existence was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in July.

“I regret very, very deeply indeed”

Mandelson, who previously held several roles in U.K. governments led by Labour prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has said he “deeply” regrets continuing his relationship with Epstein for “longer than I should have”.

“I feel a tremendous sense, a profound sense of sympathy for those people, those women, who suffer as a result of his behaviour and his illegal criminal activities,” Mandelson told an interview with the Sun on Wednesday.

“And secondly, I regret very, very deeply indeed, carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done.”

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