Prime Minister Keir Starmer told MPs Wednesday he had “confidence” in Lord Peter Mandelson despite fresh material released in the United States showing the former Cabinet minister in an effusive handwritten birthday tribute to financier Jeffrey Epstein and accompanying holiday photographs.
The disclosures, including a ten-page greeting contributed by Lord Mandelson to a 238-page photobook compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, prompted questions in the House of Commons about what the prime minister knew before appointing Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington and whether vetting documents should be published. Democrats in Congress made the photobook public this week, and US politicians also circulated photos said to show the peer on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.
Lord Mandelson’s handwritten contribution to the book, compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell, included language describing Epstein as “my best pal” and incorporated holiday snaps believed to be from a visit to Little St James around 2002. The photobook was produced five years before Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting an underage girl. Mandelson has said he regrets meeting Epstein and has warned that “more embarrassing” material may yet surface.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, which followed the release, Conservative deputy leader Kemi Badenoch and other MPs demanded clarity on the ambassador’s vetting and whether the government had known of the extent of Mandelson’s association with Epstein before his appointment. Starmer repeatedly said a full due process had been followed and that victims of Epstein were “at the forefront” of his mind. “The ambassador has repeatedly expressed his deep regret for his association with him. He is right to do so. I have confidence in him,” the prime minister told the Commons.
Labour MPs listened in silence as the exchange unfolded and opposition politicians urged tougher action. The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, asked whether the government had sought to establish whether the Trump administration might hold “compromising material” on Mandelson as he leads UK negotiations with the White House during an imminent state visit by President Donald Trump. Downing Street reiterated that ambassadorial candidates are subject to extensive vetting and background checks by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Cabinet Office.
The material released by US lawmakers included the birthday greeting and photographs, and media outlets in the United States have reported separate emails in which Epstein advised Mandelson during the 2010 sale of a Royal Bank of Scotland trading arm to JP Morgan. That correspondence, the reports say, followed Epstein’s release from prison after his 2008 conviction. US media and lawyers for Epstein’s victims have previously detailed Epstein’s role in introducing influential figures to one another; there is no suggestion in the released material that Mandelson was aware of or involved in Epstein’s crimes.
Lord Mandelson has publicly expressed regret for his association with Epstein. In comments carried in British media he said he was “very embarrassed” and accepted he had continued the relationship “for too long.” He told a podcast he had been misled by Epstein’s assurances about his legal troubles and added that, as a gay man, he had perceived a different side to the financier. “He is a charismatic criminal liar,” Mandelson said in remarks reported by the press, and he said he regretted having met Epstein and maintained contact.
Victims’ campaigners and some lawyers said that regret was insufficient and called for further investigation. Sarah Ransome, who has described herself as an Epstein victim, told national newspapers that Mandelson should be sacked. Spencer Kuvin, a US lawyer who has represented people who say they were abused by Epstein, said the ambassador should be questioned by US and UK authorities. Nazir Afzal, a former chief prosecutor in northwest England, described Mandelson’s personal messages as “inappropriate” in light of Epstein’s later conviction.
The photobook released this week includes messages and sketches attributed to a number of prominent figures and was compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a prison sentence for recruiting young women for Epstein. Some of the contributions in the book are lewd; US and British media reports noted that the volume contains other entries and drawings that have prompted renewed attention to Epstein’s social circle. President Trump has previously denied some reported associations or described material as fake.
Lord Mandelson, 71, was appointed ambassador to Washington by the prime minister this year and is scheduled to play a visible role during President Trump’s state visit to the UK, including attendance at a white-tie state banquet at Windsor Castle. That timetable has increased scrutiny of the ambassador’s past associations and raised demands from opposition politicians and campaigners that the government disclose vetting records and any correspondence between Mandelson and Epstein.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the British embassy in Washington and Lord Mandelson’s office were approached for comment in connection with the newly released material. Downing Street said the ambassador had been through a “robust vetting process” and reiterated the government’s concern for Epstein’s victims. Mandelson has said he does not believe he is named in “the Epstein files” but acknowledged there would be correspondence and exchanges that could surface and prove embarrassing.
The revelations add to longstanding scrutiny of Epstein’s network, the people who visited his properties, and how some associates later described their interactions with him. Legal filings and testimony in the United States have alleged that Epstein’s private island, Little St James, was used to traffic and sexually abuse young women and girls; Epstein denied wrongdoing and was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of recruiting and grooming young women for Epstein and is serving a multi-year sentence.
With a state visit days away, ministers face pressure to set out what was known before Mandelson’s appointment and whether further documents should be released. The prime minister has resisted demands to dismiss the ambassador, saying due process was followed, while opponents and campaigners said the disclosures warranted urgent answers as diplomatic preparations continue.