Mandelson only became ambassador to Washington in February.Peter Mandelson has been sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington over the row about his links to the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The prime minister removed the Labour peer from the post less than 24 hours after saying he still had “confidence” in him.
An alleged “birthday book” released earlier this week by the House Oversight Committee in America contained a message to from Mandelson in which he described Epstein as his “best pal”.
In a further revelation, that Mandelson told Epstein in an email that “your friends stay with you and love you” even as he was facing child underage sex charges in 2008.
Despite the controversy, Starmer initially insisted he still had “confidence” in Lord Mandelson as he was mauled at prime minister’s questions by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
Labour MPs reacted with disbelief to the PM’s continued support for the man he only appointed to the plum diplomatic post in February.
Madelson’s sacking is an acute political embarrassment for Starmer, who now faces serious questions about his judgement as well as what he knew about the Labour grandee’s links to Epstein before giving him the job.
The scandal could barely have come at a worse time for the prime minister, who will welcome Donald Trump – who faces questions over his own links to Epstein – to the UK for a state visit next week.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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