While delivering a speech in Washington as the UK’s ambassador to the US, Labour peer Peter Mandelson faced pointed questions from Sky News’ James Matthews about his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
🕵️ “Did you stay at Epstein’s Manhattan apartment?
Matthews opened the barrage:
“Did you stay at Epstein’s apartment in Manhattan in June 2009?”
Mandelson curtly replied:
“I’m not answering any questions about him.”
⚖️ Reporter presses on: “He was in jail at the time”
Undeterred, Matthews reminded him:
“He was in jail at the time for soliciting prostitution from a minor.”
Mandelson paused, then said:
“My knowledge of him is something I regret. I wish I’d never met him in the first place.”
When Matthews pressed again—
“Why did you have an association with him, because he was in jail at the time?”
—Mandelson retorted as he walked off:
“Why did many people meet him? He was a prolific networker and I wish I’d never met him in the first place.”
🔥 FT confrontation: “Fuck off” moment
This isn’t the first time Mandelson has bristled at Epstein questions. In February, the peer snapped at the Financial Times’ George Parker:
“I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner Ghislaine Maxwell… I’m not going to go into this. It’s an FT obsession and frankly you can all fuck off. OK?”
He added poignantly:
“I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women.”
👑 High-profile connections
An internal JPMorgan report from 2018 alleged Epstein had “close relationships” with both Mandelson and Prince Andrew. Ghislaine Maxwell—Epstein’s partner—was later convicted for trafficking minors on his behalf.
You may also like: Viral thread calls out 5 early Reform failures
