Sir Keir Starmer is set to face further uncomfortable questions about the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, after files revealed he was warned there was a “general reputational risk” over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The prime minister is expected to speak to journalists during a visit to Belfast on Thursday in what will be his first public appearance since the release of the files.
A “due diligence” report, which had been drawn up by the Cabinet Office in December 2024 before Labour’s peer appointment to the Washington role, noted a series of reports detailing his links to Epstein.
This included him reportedly staying at the disgraced financier’s house while he was in jail in June 2009 for procuring an underage girl, and maintaining their friendship until 2011.
Lord Mandelson was awarded a £75,000 taxpayer-funded payout when he was sacked nine months later, in September 2025, after further details of his relationship with Epstein emerged.
The prime minister has insisted Lord Mandelson “lied repeatedly” to No 10 about his relationship with Epstein, before and during his tenure as ambassador.
