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Keir Starmer has apologised to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein for appointing Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US.
“I am sorry,” the Prime Minister said at a press conference on Thursday morning.
Starmer is under severe political pressure over his decision to bring Mandelson into government despite being made aware of his links to the paedophile financier.
There was widespread anger and dismay over the scandal among Labour MPs on Wednesday night, with many calling on Starmer to remove his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who was instrumental in the decision to appoint Mandelson as the UK ambassador in Washington.
The Prime Minister has said that Mandelson, who was a key figure in the New Labour administrations of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and has remained influential in the Labour Party ever since, lied to his team about the extent of his relationship with Epstein.
Speaking in Hastings, Starmer said he wanted to address Epstein’s victims.
“I am sorry,” he said.
“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.”
He added: “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 he was personally frustrated that he is not able to immediately publish all material related to Mandelson’s appointment after the Metropolitan Police asked the government to withold information that could undermine its own criminal investigation.
However, he stressed that he would not do anything that risked collapsing that police investigation because justice for the victims must take priority.
Mandelson, a former cabinet minister, resigned from the House of Lords earlier this week amid growing outrage over his links to Epstein.
It came after millions of court documents relating to Epstein were published by the US Department of Justice, revealing that Mandelson had shared confidential and high-level UK government information with him, including that the euro bailout was coming.
He was sacked as UK ambassador to the US in September after more details about his relationship with Epstein emerged.
