UK ambassador to US fired over Epstein ties

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has abruptly fired the U K s ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson following the release of emails revealing he had closer ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein than were previously known The string of emails published by The Sun newspaper on Wednesday displayed Mandelson expressing sympathy and encouragement for Epstein in as he battled his first conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor Mandelson a longtime Labour Party politician and strategist advised Epstein to fight for early release in legal appeals before Epstein was sentenced to months in prison I think the world of you Mandelson described him before he began his sentence PRINCE ANDREW JEFFREY EPSTEIN S FRIENDSHIP FUELED BY MONEY AND SEX AUTHORIn a report in the House of Commons on Thursday Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty acknowledged that the decision to fire Mandelson came after the publication of emails Mandelson sent to Epstein In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson the prime minister has urged the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador the Foreign Office declared in a message The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment it added The revelations followed last week s release by Democrats on the U S House Oversight Committee of a birthday album compiled for Epstein In that album Mandelson referred to Epstein as my best pal in a handwritten note PRINCE ANDREW WAS A 'BULLY' WHO HUMILIATED ROYAL STAFF THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER BOOKIn that album Mandelson called Epstein my best pal in a handwritten note The disclosures prompted opposition calls for action Conservatives and the Scottish National Party demanded Mandelson s resignation while the Liberal Democrats pressed for an assessment Mandelson was one of the key figures behind the party s revival under Tony Blair In the s he was central to Labour s rebranding as New Labour working closely with Blair and Gordon Brown He served in senior Cabinet posts including Pact Secretary and Northern Ireland Secretary under Blair and Business Secretary under Gordon Brown He also served as the European Union s business commissioner from to before returning to domestic politics later that year as Lord Mandelson a life peer in the House of Lords Most of not long ago Mandelson visited President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in May during the announcement of a limited U S U K contract deal The Associated Press contributed to this analysis