British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday apologised to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and said he was sorry for having appointed Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, who was a close friend of the late sex offender.

Starmer said he had not known about the strength of the relationship between Mandelson and Epstein when he appointed him to the role in December, 2024.

Starmer has previously said he will release the vetting advice he was given when he selected Mandelson for the Washington role, but yesterday he said he also needed to abide by a police request not to release anything that could prejudice an investigation.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said yesterday it did not want to waste time answering questions about unproven suggestions in Western media and by Poland’s premier that Epstein may have been some sort of Russian intelligence asset.