After his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became yet another unwanted issue for the beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Peter Mandelson was dismissed as Britain’s ambassador to the United States on Thursday.
Following the revelation by US legislators on Monday of a “birthday book” produced for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, in which the seasoned Labour party politician had sent a handwritten letter referring to Epstein as “my best pal,” Mandelson has been under increasing criticism over his relationship with Epstein. Starmer vehemently defended his ambassador on Wednesday, telling parliament that Mandelson had his “full confidence” despite the disclosure.
After Bloomberg released a wealth of emails between Mandelson and Epstein, in which Mandelson promised to talk to his political contacts about his infamous 2008 Florida case and voiced sympathy for his pal, the crisis erupted hours later.
Following a contentious plea agreement, Epstein served 13 months in jail after entering a guilty plea to two state prostitution counts. However, the emails that Bloomberg was able to collect revealed that Mandelson remained supportive of Epstein following that verdict.
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