UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was warned that appointing an associate of convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as his envoy to Washington carried a "reputational risk", government documents showed on Wednesday.

The due diligence report drawn up before Starmer named Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the United States in late 2024 was included in the first tranche of thousands of documents due to be published about the controversial appointment.

The disclosure is likely to renew pressure on Starmer, who has faced repeated questions about his judgement and already faced down calls to resign over his decision.

The due diligence advice submitted to Starmer in December 2024 noted a series of reports detailing Mandelson's links with Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes in Florida in 2008, including soliciting a minor.

It said their relationship "continued across 2009-2011", beginning when Mandelson was a government minister and continuing after the end of the UK's last Labour government in 2010. It also noted that Mandelson "reportedly stayed in Epstein's house while he was in jail in June 2009".

Government minister Darren Jones insisted the due diligence report "did not expose the depth and extent" of their ties. He added that Starmer asked further questions of Mandelson following the report but that that document cannot yet be released.

Starmer sacked Mandelson as ambassador in September last year after documents released by a US Congressional committee revealed new details about Mandelson's ties to Epstein. Wednesday's documents show that Mandelson was paid £75,000 severance. He had asked for more than £500,000, equivalent to four years' salary. (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong