UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday fired the British ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson, following new revelations about his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson had come under scrutiny following the publication this week of his letters and emails to the disgraced financier, including one that described him as “my best pal.”
UK Foreign Minister Stephen Doughty said the newly published material showed that “the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment,” the BBC reported.
The saga threatens to overshadow US President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK next week and comes with Trump still embroiled in the controversy at home after a lewd birthday card he allegedly sent to Epstein was published Tuesday.