Keir Starmer apologises to Jeffrey Epstein's victims for appointing Peter Mandelson
The Prime Minister said he was “sorry for having believed Mandelson's lies and appointed him” in a speech on Thursday morning.
Sir Keir Starmer has apologised to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
The Prime Minister said he was “sorry for having believed Mandelson's lies and appointed him” in a speech on Thursday morning.
He also said that “none of us knew depth and darkness” of the relationship between Lord Mandelson and the paedophile financier.
It comes after files released by the US Department of Justice revealed that Lord Mandelson passed on market-sensitive information to Mr Epstein while he was serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s Government.
But the Prime Minister is under pressure after he admitted on Wednesday that he had known about the pair’s relationship when Lord Mandelson was given the US ambassador job.
He said at an event in Hastings in the south of England: “The victims of Epstein have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend, and they've had to relive it again and again.
“They have seen accountability delayed and too often denied.
“To them, I want to say this. I am sorry, sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you. Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him and sorry that even now you’re forced to watch this story unfold in public once again.
“But I also want to say this: in this country, we will not look away, we will not shrug our shoulders, and we will not allow the powerful to treat justice as optional. We will pursue the truth. We will uphold the integrity of public life, and we will do everything within our power and in the interests of justice to ensure accountability is delivered.
“That is what the public expects. That is what the victims deserve, and it is what I will do.”
The Prime Minister said that Lord Mandelson “portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew” when asked about it.
“In recent days, serious allegations and serious evidence has emerged concerning Mandelson’s conduct, including his relationship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
“It had been publicly known for some time that Mandelson knew Epstein, but none of us knew the depth and the darkness of that relationship.”
He continued: “Before he was appointed ambassador, Mandelson was asked directly about the nature of his relationship with Epstein. He was asked whether he had stayed at Epstein after his conviction, but when later, further information came to light, he was asked whether he had accepted gifts and hospitality, about whether he had been fully transparent about the relationship.
“The information now available makes clear that the answers he gave were lies. He portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew, but when that became clear and it was not true, I sacked him. Such deceit is incompatible with public service.”
The PM added that he wanted to release documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to Washington DC on Wednesday, but the police had “advised that releasing certain information now could risk prejudicing a future investigation or legal process”.
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