Former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson has apologized for continuing his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following his conviction.
Mr Mandelson, who was removed from his ambassadorship in September over his ties to the disgraced financier, had come under fire for issuing a limited apology on Sunday for system failures that disappointed Mr Epstein’s victims.
But on Monday, he issued a fuller apology in a statement to the BBC’s Newsnight programme.
“Yesterday, I did not want to be held accountable for his (Epstein’s) crimes, which I was neither ignorant nor indifferent to because of the lies he (Epstein) told me and so many others,” said Mandelson, who is currently on leave as a member of the House of Lords.
“It was a mistake to believe him and continue a relationship with him after he was found guilty. I unequivocally apologize for doing this to the women and girls affected.”
In September, US lawmakers released a “birthday book” compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, containing a handwritten note from the veteran Labor politician describing him as “my best friend.”
The scandal snowballed after Bloomberg published a trove of emails between Mandelson and Epstein in which Mandelson expressed support for his friend and offered to discuss the infamous 2008 Florida incident with political figures.
In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Mandelson refused to apologize for maintaining their friendship after Epstein pleaded guilty to two state prostitution charges and served a 13-month prison sentence as a result of a controversial plea deal.
“I want to apologize to women for a system that refuses to hear their voices and deny them the protection they deserve,” he said.
“That system protected him, not them. If I had known that I was complicit or guilty in any way, of course I would have apologized. But I wasn’t guilty. I didn’t know what he was doing,” he said.
Mandelson also claimed that he was “insulated” from Epstein’s sexual activities because he is gay.
But his statement on Monday showed he was more sensitive to Epstein’s victims.
“I was never complicit in his crimes. Like everyone else, I learned the real truth about him after his death,” Mandelson said.
“But his victims knew what he was doing, but their voices were not heard. I am sorry that I was among those who believed in him more than they did,” he added.
