Peter Mandelson US envoy pick disastrous, MPs say

Peter Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the United States was "nothing short of disastrous" and harmed Britain's international standing, a parliamentary committee said Thursday.

The Foreign Affairs Committee said Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office forced the appointment on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office despite Mandelson's close ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer appointed Mandelson in December 2024 in the hope that he would help build ties with US President Donald Trump. Starmer sacked him in September 2025 after the release of Epstein emails showed the depth of Mandelson's friendship with Epstein.

The committee said Mandelson "was not a fit and proper person for such a role" and that the appointment had been painful and offensive to Epstein's victims.

Starmer has said Mandelson lied about how close he was to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex crimes. Starmer has denied that his office applied pressure to have Mandelson's appointment approved despite failed security vetting.

Committee chair Emily Thornberry told Sky News the appointment process lacked transparency and order. The committee called for the power to veto political appointments to senior diplomatic posts.