Starmer apologises to Epstein’s victims but government remains under pressure over Mandelson scandal

The Prime Minister today apologised to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein as his government continued to come under pressure over the revelations involving the appointment of the former Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson. 

Speaking at the launch of the government’s ‘Pride in Place’ strategy, Starmer apologised for believing Mandelson’s “lies” about the extent of his relationship with the convicted paedophile. Starmer, visibly fired up, said that he deeply regretted the decision to appoint him as ambassador, adding that he had “no reason at the time to know that they were lies”. 

Starmer will be all too aware that this story, and the speed with which it is moving, could have catastrophic consequences for his leadership and the government. 

Faced with growing pressure from his backbenchers, the government was forced into a climbdown last night over plans to withhold some materials documenting Mandelson’s security clearance ahead of his appointment as ambassador in late 2024. Addressing the Commons yesterday, Starmer insisted he wanted to release the files regarding Mandelson’s appointment but would not publish anything that could risk national security or diplomatic relations. 

Spearheaded by the former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, the government later agreed to involve the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) in the process.

Also in the firing line is the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney. Previously a close ally of Mandelson, McSweeney had reportedly been pushing for his appointment as ambassador behind the scenes. 

The line from Number 10 has been that the Prime Minister was misled by Mandelson about the extent of his relationship with Epstein, and that if this had been made fully clear Mandelson would not have been considered for the role. 

While the files once released will provide clarity around this, the scandal has triggered criticism of the judgement shown by Starmer and his team. As many journalists have pointed out, Mandelson and Epstein’s relationship was hardly a secret. The two had been pictured together on numerous occasions, with Mandelson even staying in Epstein’s New York flat while the latter was serving his prison term. 

So, what next? Starmer said that he wants the files released “as quickly as possible” though no timeframe has yet been given. In the meantime, the priority will be to survive the coming days as he continues to face pressure from the backbenches, with a growing number of his own MPs casting doubts on his future. Meanwhile, markets have reacted negatively to that speculation, with borrowing costs rising to their highest since November. 

With the upcoming by-election in Gorton and Denton now overshadowed, and with what is expected to be a difficult set of local elections in May, the Prime Minister is facing his toughest few weeks yet. 

As one anonymous Labour insider said: "The last 24 hours have been the period of maximum anger at Starmer, but the period of maximum danger is yet to come."