US Ambassador Lord Mandelson has admitted he remained friends with paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, even after the American’s first indictment for soliciting underage sex.
Mandelson told The Sun’s “Harry Cole Saves the West” YouTube channel he regrets “very, very deeply indeed, carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done”.
“I regret very much that I fell for his lies; I fell for and accepted assurances that he had given me about his indictment, his original criminal case in Florida, like very many people, I took at face value what he said,” the Labour peer admitted.
Epstein was jailed for 18 months for soliciting prostitution from a person under the age of 18 in 2008.
It emerged on Monday that Mandelson allegedly described Epstein as his “best pal” in a note to him as part of a so-called ‘birthday book’ given to him in 2003.
The letter is part of a book allegedly compiled by Epstein’s girlfriend and collaborator, Ghislane Maxwell, for the disgraced financier’s 50th birthday in 2003.
The book, which included letters alleged to be from a series of famous names including US presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, was released on Monday night by US Democrats, along with several other documents in the long-running dispute over Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and associates.
Asked about the notes in the ‘birthday book’, Mandelson said: “I find them very embarrassing to see and to read, but they were written before he was indicted.”
“He is a charismatic criminal liar we now see, and I regret very much indeed,” the US Ambassador told Harry Cole.
“I felt it like an albatross around my neck since his death in 2018 or 19, when it was.
“I feel, I feel a tremendous sense of regret, not only that I met him in the first place, but I continued the association, and I took, at face value, the lies that he fed me and many others.”
Mandelson, who was appointed Ambassador the US in February 2025, said he expected further correspondence between himself and Epstein to surface, which will be “very embarrassing.”
“I have no doubt at all that there’s a lot of traffic, correspondence exchanges between us absolutely. And we know those are going to surface.
“We know they’re going to be very embarrassing, and they know that I’m going to profoundly regret ever having met him and been introduced to him in the first place. But I can’t rewrite history.”
The former Labour spin doctor and minister said he “never saw any evidence of criminal activity” during his time spent with Epstein.
“I never sought and nor did he offer any introductions to women in the way that allegedly he did for others. Perhaps it’s because I’m a gay man.”
The letter, allegedly from Mandelson to Epstein, released on Monday, spans several pages and photographs.
In it, Mandelson appears to describe Epstein as “an intelligent, sharp-witted man,” claiming he would “spend many hours just waiting for him to turn up.”
Accompanying a photo of someone parachuting, Lord Mandelson appears to write: “Once upon a time, an intelligent, sharp-witted man they call ‘mysterious’ parachuted into my life…
“I would spend many hours just waiting for him to turn up. And often no sooner were you getting used to having him around, you would suddenly be alone… again.”
Above a photo of a young Mandelson, with two women whose faces are obscured, is written: “Leaving you with some ‘interesting’ friends to entertain instead.”
Mandelson is pictured sitting with Epstein, and the message continues with: “But wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal!”
The letter concludes: “Happy Birthday Jeffrey, we love you!!”
Lord Mandelson has previously said he regrets his association with Esptein, and his previous relationship with the businessman is in the public record.
Speaking on Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesperson maintained the prime minister had full confidence in Peter Mandelson and pointed to the instrumental role he had played in strengthening UK-US relations.
The US Justice Department in August began turning over records from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation to the House Oversight Committee.
The committee requested documents from the Epstein estate last month.
In addition to the birthday book, the committee requested Epstein’s last will and testament, agreements he signed with prosecutors, his contact books, and his financial transactions and holdings.
Trump has been embroiled in a legal battle with Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal over an article they wrote claiming the US president had written a suggestive letter to Epstein on his birthday.
This apparent letter was also included in the documents released on Monday.
President Trump’s relationship with Epstein has been well documented, and the former denies writing, signing or creating the drawing of a curvaceous woman that surrounds the letter.
“These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” Trump said.
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the release of these letters in a statement posted on X, writing: “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.
“President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”
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