British PM: Former Ambassador Mandelson Lied about Ties to Epstein

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer/PHOTO via Instagram @keirstarmer

JAKARTA - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that former British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson had lied to the government regarding his relationship with US financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer said the pre-nomination inquiry into Mandelson had exposed his links to Epstein.

Starmer appointed Mandelson as ambassador in February 2025. However, in September of the same year, Mandelson was dismissed from his post due to his association with Epstein. On Sunday, Mandelson announced his resignation from the Labour Party.

"Yes, that's why he was asked a variety of questions. I intend to reveal to this [Lower] House all the implications for national security and international relations," Starmer said, quoted by ANTARA from Sputnik, Thursday, February 5.

Starmer said this in front of the British House of Commons (House of Commons) when asked by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch whether security checks had revealed Mandelson's relationship with Epstein before he was appointed.

According to Starmer, Mandelson "completely misrepresented the level of his relationship with Epstein" and lied throughout the verification process.

"He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein, both before and during his tenure as ambassador. I regret having appointed him. If I had known then what I know now, he would never have been in the government's inner circle," said Starmer.

Starmer explained that the government was drafting legislation to revoke Mandelson's knighthood and King Charles III had also agreed to remove Mandelson from the British Royal Advisory Council.

According to the British PM, the scandal will encourage the formation of broader legislation to strip titles from disgraced aristocrats.

Mandelson is provisionally retaining his title of Lord because the rules of the House of Lords require a parliamentary law to remove it.

This was confirmed in November 2025 when an attempt was made to revoke the title of King Charles III's brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, in connection with his relationship with Epstein.

On January 30, US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the completion of the publication of documents related to the Epstein case. With the latest disclosure, the total volume of data released exceeded 3.5 million files.

The document also notes that Mandelson received $75,000 (about Rp1.3 billion today) from Epstein in the 2003-2004 period.

The Sun reported in September 2025 that Mandelson in 2008 had assured Epstein "your friends are still with you and love you" when the US financier was embroiled in a case accusing him of forcing an underage girl into prostitution.

Shortly before Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison via a plea deal, Mandelson reportedly urged him to "fight" to be released sooner.

In a number of letters, the former ambassador also expressed his anger over Epstein's trial in the United States and encouraged the financier to approach it "philosophically."

Epstein was found dead of suicide in a New York jail on August 10, 2019.