Lord Peter Mandelson has been dismissed as ambassador to Washington after emails showed he sent supportive messages to Jeffrey Epstein while the financier faced sex offences. Downing Street sources said he was ‘economical with the truth’ about his links to Epstein before the appointment. The Prime Minister faces questions over what he knew about Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein and the vetting process for the posting. Mandelson’s sacking followed publication of emails from a previously closed account.

Ahead of the appointment, the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics Team provided the Prime Minister with a file detailing Mandelson’s links to Epstein and prepared three questions, including why he continued contact with Epstein after his conviction and why he was reported to have stayed at Epstein’s home while in prison. Mandelson is understood to have told No 10 he had not stayed in Epstein’s apartment during his prison term, while Downing Street sources said he was economical with the truth in his replies. A further vetting review by the Foreign Office followed.

The row also involved criticism from Kemi Badenoch, who accused the Prime Minister of lying about what he knew of Mandelson’s emails. She cited reporting that Downing Street was aware of the messages on Tuesday, a day before Mandelson’s removal and ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions. The Foreign Office confirmed it received a media inquiry on Tuesday, which was passed to Downing Street. An inquiry by Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee chair demanded details of the department’s vetting process. Mandelson’s long friendship with Epstein was known before his appointment, and other media reports suggested the relationship continued after Epstein’s crimes became public. The emails published on Wednesday included Mandelson telling Epstein to ‘fight for early release’ shortly before Epstein’s 18-month sentence, and saying ‘I think the world of you’ the day before the sentence began in 2008. The row adds to political pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, coming after Angela Rayner’s departure and the ensuing Cabinet reshuffle.