Peter Mandelson, the Labour peer, has come under fresh criticism for his links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, who was removed from his post as the UK’s Ambassador to the United States, faced scrutiny after emails surfaced showing that he had encouraged Epstein to seek early release from prison.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Mandelson refused to issue a direct apology to Epstein’s victims. Instead, he expressed regret for the system that failed to protect them. He said, “I want to apologise for a system that refused to hear their voices and did not give them the protection they were entitled to expect. That system gave him protection and not them.”
He added that he would have apologized if he had been knowingly complicit but insisted that he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal activities. “I regret and will regret to my dying day that powerless women were not given the protection they were entitled to expect,” Mandelson said.
When asked why he maintained a friendship with Epstein after his conviction, Mandelson admitted it was a mistake. “It was a most terrible mistake on my part. I believed the story he told in 2008 during his first indictment in Florida. I accepted his story, and I wish I hadn’t. I gave my support to somebody because I believed what he was telling me, and it was misplaced loyalty,” he said.
He emphasised that the focus should remain on Epstein’s victims rather than himself. “The crux of this is not me. The crux of this is that so many hundreds of young women were completely trapped, powerless in a system that did not listen to what they had to say,” Mandelson said.
Regarding his time around Epstein, Mandelson claimed he never witnessed any suspicious activity. “I never saw anything in his life, when I was with him or in his homes, that would give me any reason to suspect what this evil monster was doing,” he said. He explained that being a gay man in Epstein’s circle meant he was “kept separate from what he was doing in the sexual side of his life.”
Questions have also been raised about whether Mandelson misled the government when considered for the ambassador role, particularly by not disclosing all relevant details about his relationship with Epstein. Mandelson stated that the emails in question “came as a huge surprise and a huge shock” and that they no longer existed on his inactive server. “I was unable to share emails with [the government] that I didn’t recall and I didn’t possess,” he said.
Asked if he deserved to be sacked, Mandelson acknowledged the decision. “I understand why I was sacked. I understand why [Prime Minister Keir Starmer] took the decision. But one thing I’m very clear about is I’m not going to seek to reopen or re-litigate this issue. I’m moving on.”
Comments
Post a Comment