As questions about his judgment mount, PM breaks silence over sacking of ambassador to US
As questions about his judgment mount, PM breaks silence over sacking of ambassador to US
Keir Starmer has broken his silence about sacking Peter Mandelson as US ambassador over the envoy’s close friendship with the financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Amid mounting questions about his political judgment, Starmer was asked why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place, given that the Labour peer’s friendship with Epstein had long been public knowledge.
Starmer said: “Had I known then what I know now, I’d have never appointed him.”
The prime minister backed Mandelson in the Commons on Wednesday, but sacked him a day later. He was aware when he stood up at prime minister’s questions on the Wednesday that further revelations were due to be published about Mandelson, because the ambassador had already acknowledged that “very embarrassing” messages would surface.
Starmer knew the Foreign Office had asked Mandelson questions about those emails, before PMQs, but has since insisted he did not know about the content of those emails, or Mandelson’s response to the official inquiries – until Wednesday night.
The prime minister only withdrew his support for Mandelson on Thursday morning, over the emails from Mandelson to Epstein that Bloomberg published.
