Lord Peter Mandelson has been sacked from his role as British ambassador to the US after his ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein became known to the public.
British Minister for Europe and North America, Stephen Doughty, announced on Thursday that Lord Mandelson has been sacked "in light of additional information in the emails."
The foreign office also released a statement saying that "The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein," and "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"In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein’s crimes he has been withdrawn as Ambassador with immediate effect."
How did Epstein's relationship with the US envoy come to light?
The friendship between Mandelson and Epstein came to light when a bundle of correspondence collated into a birthday book by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former partner and co-conspirator, was handed to the investigating committee in the US House of Representatives. In the bundle was a handwritten note from Mandelson to Epstein in which he referred to the now-deceased paedophile as “my best pal.”
Although Mandelson told Britain’s The Sun newspaper on Wednesday that he was “very embarrassed to see and to read [the birthday message] but, they were written before he was indicted”, The Daily Telegraph revealed a 20 year friendship between the two, which lasted even after Epstein was jailed for a child sex offence in 2008.
Mandelson went on to say that he may have been oblivious to Epstein’s criminality “because I am a gay man.”
Mandelson 'regrets' being introduced to Epstein
A spokesperson for Mandelson also told the BBC: “Lord Mandelson has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein.”
However, the US committee revealed that in other emails, Mandelson urged Epstein to “fight for early release” and told him that “your friends stay with you and love you”.
To add another layer to the story, Declassified UK revealed that Mandelson asked Epstein to help perform a background check on an Israeli political consultant in 2013, five years after Epstein pled guilty to solicitation of a minor.
In the email, sent from his work address, Mandelson asked Epstein to ask former prime minister Ehud Barak to look into an Israeli political consultant named Asaf Eisin.
“Can you ask Ehud [Barak, the former Israeli prime minister] whether he knows/thinks of this Israeli guy living in London,” Mandelson wrote in the emails. “He says he worked on political campaigns for Ehud. Thanks. Peter.”
The file-sharing website, Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS), made the correspondence available, which has since been independently verified by the Sunday Times.
Mandelson was born to an atheist Jewish father and non-Jewish mother in Hendon, UK. His previous roles include Secretary of State under Gordon Brown, Secretary of State for Business under Gordon Brown, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under Tony Blair, and MP for Hartlepool.
His term as British Ambassador to the US began in February 2025
A spokesperson for Mandelson also told the BBC: “Lord Mandelson has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein.”
However, the US committee revealed that in other emails, Mandelson urged Epstein to “fight for early release” and told him that “your friends stay with you and love you.”
Additionally, Declassified UK revealed that Mandelson asked Epstein to help perform a background check on an Israeli political consultant in 2013, five years after Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor.
In the email, sent from his work address, Mandelson asked Epstein to ask former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to look into an Israeli political consultant named Asaf Eisin.
“Can you ask Ehud [Barak, the former Israeli prime minister] whether he knows/thinks of this Israeli guy living in London,” Mandelson wrote in the emails. “He says he worked on political campaigns for Ehud. Thanks. Peter.”
The file-sharing website, Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS), made the correspondence available, which has since been independently verified by the Sunday Times.
Mandelson was born to an atheist Jewish father and non-Jewish mother in Hendon, north-west London. He previously held influential cabinet roles include former prime ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. He was Labour MP for Hartlepool in the northeast of England.
His was appointed as British Ambassador to the US in February 2025.