The UK’s incoming ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson told a reporter to “fuck off” when pressed over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein, the convicted sex offender and financier who died in 2019, allegedly had a “close relationship” with both Mandelson and Prince Andrew, according to an internal JPMorgan report from six years ago.
When asked about that connection by the Financial Times’ George Parker during an extensive interview, the former Labour cabinet minister said: “I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Maxwell is currently in prison for recruiting and trafficking underaged girls for the financier.
Mandelson also said: “I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women.”
However, according to the FT report, “an icy chill” then descended during their conversation on the train, and Mandelson added: “I’m not going to go into this. It’s an FT obsession and frankly you can all fuck off. OK?”
When later aksed about Mandelson’s language, the prime minister’s spokesperson told reporters: “The prime minister has made clear the expertise and the experience Lord Mandelson has in relation to becoming ambassador to the US.”
Pressed on whether that was the kind of behaviour the PM expects from his diplomatic appointments, the spokesperson said: “Mandelson’s expertise speaks for itself – he’s got widely respected, he’s got significant expertise, and will be an excellent ambassador to the US.”
Asked if the PM himself would ever use that language, the PM’s representative added: “I’m not going to get into hypotheticals.”
The incident comes after significant scrutiny over Mandelson’s appointment.
Reports recently emerged that US president Donald Trump was considering rejecting him as the new ambassador, which could have caused major upset with PM Keir Starmer.
Mandelson even retracted his past “ill-judged” attacks on Trump last week, having previously described the Republican as a “danger to the world” and “little short of a white nationalist and racist”.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Mandelson said: “I consider my remarks about President Trump as ill-judged and wrong. I think that times and attitudes towards the president have changed.”
Referencing Trump’s re-election, he said: “I think that he has won fresh respect. He certainly has from me, and that is going to be the basis of all the work I do as His Majesty’s ambassador in the United States.”