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  "path": "/2026/03/12/keir-starmer-apologises-epsteins-victims-saying-mandelson-mistake-27385312/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-12T14:09:31.000Z",
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  "tags": [
    "News",
    "Politics",
    "Labour Party",
    "Peter Mandelson",
    "Sir Keir Starmer",
    "Jeffrey Epstein",
    "following the release of official documents",
    "government",
    "Northern Ireland",
    "Tony Blair",
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    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source"
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  "textContent": "Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson has been described as a ‘catastrophic error’ (Picture: Reuters)\n\nSir Keir Starmer has said he appointment of Peter Mandelson was his mistake as he apologised again to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein for the decision.\n\nThe crisis over the Prime Minister’s pick for British ambassador to the US erupted again following the release of official documents by the government yesterday.\n\nThey show Starmer was already aware of the ‘reputational risk’ of Mandelson’s close links with Epstein when he was chosen for the top diplomatic role.\n\nSpeaking in Northern Ireland today, the PM told reporters ‘it was me that made the mistake’ of the appointment, ‘and it’s me that makes the apology to the victims of Epstein’.\n\nThe documents released yesterday also showed that Mandelson, a former government minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, asked for more than £500,000 in severance when he was sacked.\n\nUltimately, the government gave him a taxpayer-funded sum of £75,000.\n\n##  Want to understand more about how politics affects your life?\n\nMetro's senior politics reporter Craig Munro breaks down all the chaos into easy to follow insight, in **Metro** 's politics newsletter Alright, Gov? Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here.\n\nAsked today if the ex-ambassador should hand back the money, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: ‘Absolutely, I mean this is a man who has proven to be a traitor to his country.\n\n‘He’s proven to be a traitor to many of his former colleagues, although that’s of less importance.\n\n‘He’s someone that should never have been considered or appointed as ambassador, and he should do the right thing and return the money that he got as a payment.’\n\nSarwar described Starmer’s decision to appoint Mandelson as a ‘catastrophic error’.\n\nFollowing further revelations about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein earlier this year, he publicly called on the PM to step down.\n\n**Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.** **Or you can submit your videos and pictureshere.**\n\n**For more stories like this, check our****  news page****.**\n\n**Follow Metro.co.uk onTwitter and Facebook for the latest news updates.** **You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alertshere. **\n\nComment now Comments  Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source ",
  "title": "Keir Starmer apologises to Epstein’s victims saying Mandelson was his mistake"
}