Starmer: I’d have ‘never appointed’ Mandelson if I knew full Epstein links – POLITICO

LONDON — Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Monday he would have “never appointed” Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the U.S. if he had been aware of the full scale of Mandelson’s connections to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

In his latest show of contrition, Starmer expressed regret for handing the Labour grandee such a plum job. Mandelson was sacked last week after leaked emails exposed the extent of his friendship with Epstein, even after the latter was charged with sex offenses.

“Peter Mandelson, before he was appointed, went through a due diligence process,” said Starmer to broadcasters. “That’s the propriety and ethics team. He went through a process, and therefore I knew of his association with Epstein.”