UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fighting for her political future, apologized Thursday to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for appointing Peter Mandelson, a friend of the sex offender, as US ambassador.
“Sorry for what’s been done to you, sorry that so many people in power have failed you,” Starmer said. (AP)Starmer, who has indicated he will not resign over the scandal, issued the apology after days of being upset by the decision last February to send veteran politician Mandelson to Washington despite his relationship with Epstein.
The latest crisis to hit his struggling government follows fresh allegations about the former ambassador’s cozy relationship with the late sex offender Epstein that emerged in newly released files last Friday.
They have led many to doubt Starmer’s judgment and some – including his ruling centre-left Labor Party – to question whether he can remain prime minister.
“I’m sorry,” an emotional Starmer said, addressing his apology to Epstein’s victims who had “seen accountability delayed and often denied.”
“Sorry for what’s been done to you, sorry that so many people in power have failed you, sorry for believing Mandelson’s lies and hiring him,” he added before delivering a speech defending British values.
Also Read | Keir Sturmer names Mandelson in Epstein files, vows to release documents
Facing questions about whether he could stay in power, Starmer detailed his government’s priorities before adding: “I want to continue that important work”.
‘the dark’ Starmer fired former UK minister and EU trade commissioner Mandelson in September after just seven months as US ambassador, before the files about Epstein were released.
The former ambassador was one of many prominent figures embarrassed last week by the latest revelations of ties to the late US financier, who died in prison in 2019 by suicide while facing charges of alleged sex trafficking.
Email exchanges between them showed a warm, close friendship, financial transactions, personal photos as well as evidence that Mandelson passed confidential and potentially market-sensitive information to Epstein nearly two decades ago.
Starmer reiterated Thursday that Mandelson lied repeatedly to secure the Washington job and that he had no prior knowledge of the “depth and darkness” of his Epstein friendship.
However, the prime minister confirmed on Wednesday that the bond remained despite the offending financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor in the US, causing deep unease among Labor lawmakers who are increasingly reluctant to defend another misstep.
MPs forced the government in a vote to submit all recruitment documents to parliament’s cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee for release, rather than allowing ministers and officials to choose what to reveal.
“The mood yesterday was the most angry I think I’ve seen Labor MPs in 16 years in parliament,” Labor lawmaker Carl Turner told Times Radio on Thursday. “We can’t pretend this isn’t a crisis situation.”
There have been growing calls from opposition parties for Starmer to fire his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, a longtime Mandelson ally who advocated for his Washington appointment.
The Prime Minister publicly defended his aide.
Conservative leader Kimmy Badenoch said Starmer’s position was “clearly untenable” on Thursday.
Also Read | Living in the Gray Zone: The Peter Mandelson Story
Urging Labor MPs to support calls for a no-confidence vote against him in parliament — where Labor has a comfortable majority — he said it was a question of when he would go.
Police investigation The tension comes when the centre-left party is predicted to perform poorly ahead of a key by-election for one of Labor’s parliamentary seats this month and local elections in May.
The scandal appears to have resonated with voters who returned Labor to power in 2024 for the first time since 2010, as a string of controversies helped oust the Conservatives.
“Repeated government U-turns, cabinet resignations and constant briefings of leadership plots have led the public to say this government is as chaotic as the last,” Luke Traill, executive director of UK think tank More in Common, told AFP.
“The Mandelssohn Story.” Arbo looks set for a charge that does more and convinces people that the problem is much broader than a party or a prime minister.”
The political crisis weighed on the pound and long-term bonds on Thursday.
Mandelson, 72, who has not commented publicly on the crisis this week, has been a key and divisive figure in British politics for decades. He resigned from the government twice due to allegations of misconduct.
The latest revelations prompted his resignation from parliament’s unelected House of Lords earlier this week.
He is the subject of a police investigation over claims of misconduct in a public office – which if arrested, charged and convicted – could lead to prison terms.
