Overview

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer directed the Foreign Office to withdraw Mandelson from Washington with immediate effect after the emails were published, as announced to Parliament by minister Stephen Doughty.
• The government cited new information that Mandelson had argued Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged, which it said differed from what was known during vetting in 2024.
• The 2008 correspondence reportedly urged Epstein to push for early release and included the line, “I hold you in very high regard.”
• A 2003 birthday‑album entry that Mandelson has acknowledged described Epstein as his “best pal,” while the White House disputes the authenticity of a separate entry attributed to President Trump.
• Mandelson expressed regret about ever meeting Epstein, as opposition parties demand disclosure of his vetting files and the timing raises concerns of a shadow over President Trump’s state visit to the UK next week.