The United Kingdom prime minister has directed the foreign secretary to withdraw Peter Mandelson from his post as Ambassador to the United States after newly disclosed emails revealed a far deeper relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein than was previously known. According to officials, the correspondence shows that Mandelson not only maintained extensive contact with Epstein but also suggested that Epstein’s first conviction was “wrongful” and should be challenged — a position not disclosed at the time of his appointment.

“In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein’s crimes he has been withdrawn as Ambassador with immediate effect,” a government spokesperson said.This sacking came after The Sun and Bloomberg revealed he had sent supportive messages to Jeffrey Epstein while the financier was under investigation for sexual offences in the US in 2008. Emails showed the veteran Labour figure telling Epstein he was “following you closely and here whenever you need” and advising him to “remember the Art of War” when dealing with prosecutors. He also reportedly urged Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before the financier received an 18-month sentence for procuring a child for prostitution, writing the day before sentencing: “I think the world of you.” Responding to the reports, the 71-year-old told the BBC he had relied on assurances of Epstein’s innocence that “turned out later to be horrendously false.”Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Conservative Party, said: “Peter Mandelson is now gone, but Keir Starmer failed yet another key test of leadership. I asked him about Peter Mandelson’s links to the notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein six times at Prime Minister’s Questions. And six times he could not provide any answers. He gave his full backing to a man unfit for office. This matters for you. Because the Prime Minister has been distracted from the serious national security and economic challenges our country is facing.““He is a weak Prime Minister, who doesn’t have the courage to do the right thing at the right time. “The deficit is growing, debt is mounting, the welfare budget is spiralling out of control, and we are bracing for punishing tax rises from Rachel Reeves this Autumn. Enough is enough. The British public deserve a government focused on making sure our country is safe, lives within its means, and puts the public finances back on a sound footing. Only the Conservatives can deliver that,” he added.