UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday dismissed Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, following fresh revelations about his long-standing friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Foreign Office confirmed that Starmer instructed Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to withdraw Mandelson “with immediate effect” after newly uncovered emails showed he defended Epstein during his 2008 prosecution in the United States.

“The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment,” the statement read.

It added that Mandelson’s suggestion that Epstein’s first conviction was “wrongful” and should be challenged was “new information” and inconsistent with his diplomatic role.

The Sun and Bloomberg reported that Mandelson had told Epstein he was “following you closely and here whenever you need” and advised him to “remember the Art of War” in dealing with US prosecutors. He also urged Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before the disgraced financier began an 18-month jail term for procuring a minor for prostitution.

In one email, Mandelson reportedly wrote, “I think the world of you,” just a day before Epstein started his sentence.

Mandelson, 71, later told the BBC he had “relied on assurances of Epstein’s innocence that turned out horrendously false,” adding:

“His lawyers claimed it was a shake-down, a conspiracy. I foolishly relied on their word, which I regret to this day.”

The dismissal comes a week before US President Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain and after growing political pressure. Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said Mandelson’s position was “untenable,” while several Labour MPs publicly urged Starmer to act.

Mandelson, a former Labour minister, ex-European trade commissioner, and once known as the party’s chief spin doctor, had only been appointed to the Washington posting earlier this year. Starmer defended the choice as recently as Wednesday, saying “due process was followed” in the vetting.

The controversy deepened after a congressional panel in the US published letters in which Mandelson called Epstein his “best pal” and “an intelligent, sharp-witted man” in a book marking Epstein’s 50th birthday.

Mandelson told The Sun he regretted “very deeply” maintaining ties with Epstein “for far longer than I should have done.”