Lord Mandelson has apologised for the “embarrassing” letter he wrote to Jeffrey Epstein in which he referred to the convicted sex trafficker as his “best pal”, saying he “regrets very deeply” continuing his relationship with him after he was convicted.
The former Labour spin doctor, often referred to as ‘the Prince of Darkness’, said that he “fell for [Epstein’s] lies and accepted assurances” in the wake of his first criminal indictment in Florida.
“Like very many people, I took at face value what he said,” the UK’s ambassador to Washington told The Sun’s new Harry Cole Saves the West show. “With hindsight… many years later we realised that we had been wrong to believe him; he’s a charismatic, criminal liar.”
Mandelson’s comments follow the publication of a 50th ‘birthday book’ compiled for Epstein by his incarcerated ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, which contained photos and a letter from the British politician.
The note contained references to the “interesting friends” that the US financier would leave Mandelson to entertain and the “glorious homes [that Epstein liked] to share with his friends (yum yum)”.
However, he said he was braced for the release of further “traffic, correspondence, exchanges” between himself and Epstein.
“We know they’re going to surface, we know they’re going to come out, they’re going to be embarrassing,” he added.
Questions over Mandelson’s future
The revelations from the ‘birthday book’, which also contained entries from Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, will heap further pressure on Mandelson’s political future, having only been appointed to his ambassadorial post just nine months ago.
Those questions will be compounded by a report showing the former minister, one of the architects of New Labour who ran communications for the party’s landslide 1997 election campaign, played a significant role in a billion-pound deal brokered by Epstein as business secretary.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the sex trafficker was the middleman in JP Morgan’s acquisition of Sempra Commodities, a joint venture between Sempra Energy and the taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland. The deal took place after Epstein’s first conviction in Florida, and also involved the disgraced investment banker Jes Staley, who has since been barred from the City for his ties to Epstein.
The ‘birthday book’ revelations were published by the US House Oversight Committee on Monday, and included several photos of Mandelson in a dressing gown and on a speedboat.
The government has so far defended Mandelson, and the Prime Minister’s official spokesman has said the ambassador retains Starmer’s full confidence.
“We’re focused, obviously, on our relationship with the US,” he told reporters. “We’ve got President Trump coming for an unprecedented state visit next week to build on the progress we’ve already made between our governments.”