PM 'told of Mandelson's relationship with Epstein before ambassador appointment'

Keir Starmer was briefed on details of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein before he decided to appoint him US ambassador, senior civil servants said yesterday.

- Eleni Courea

The prime minister received a Cabinet Office report that contained "a summary of reputational risks" including Mandelson's "prior relationship with Jeffrey Epstein".

Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary, told MPs the report contained "direct extracts from media reporting and notes a general reputational risk" to making the appointment.

Speaking at the foreign affairs select committee, he said the judgment about whether to make the appointment or not had ultimately been one for Starmer.

Mandelson's longstanding friendship with Epstein - which continued after the disgraced financier was convicted in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution - was a matter of public record before his appointment.

It was public information that Mandelson had stayed at Epstein's apartment in Manhattan in 2009, after Epstein was sentenced to prison.