Lord Mandelson refuses to apologise to victims over Epstein friendship

Lord Peter Mandelson has refused to apologise for his idiosyncratic narration with Jeffrey Epstein.

The erstwhile UK ambassador to the US, who was sacked past September over emails which showed the grade of his enactment for the convicted paedophile pursuing his conviction, told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg helium had paid a "calamitous" terms for their association.

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Lord Mandelson told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg said: "I ne'er saw thing successful his beingness erstwhile I was with him, erstwhile I was successful his homes, that would springiness maine immoderate crushed to fishy what this evil monster was doing successful preying connected these young women.

"I deliberation the contented is that due to the fact that I was a cheery antheral successful his circle, I was kept abstracted from what helium was doing successful the intersexual broadside of his life."

Asked whether helium wanted to apologise to Epstein's victims, Lord Mandelson said helium wanted to apologise for a "system that refused to perceive their voices and did not springiness them the extortion they were entitled to expect".

But pressed connected whether helium would apologise for his idiosyncratic actions, Lord Mandelson said: "If I had known, if I was successful immoderate mode complicit oregon culpable, of people I would apologise… but I was not culpable, I was not knowledgeable for what helium was doing, and I regret, and volition regret to my dying day, the information that powerless women were not fixed the extortion they were entitled to expect."

In 2008, Epstein pleaded blameworthy to soliciting prostitution and soliciting a insignificant but Lord Mandelson said helium believed his excuses and continued to enactment him.

Emails showed the erstwhile Labour MP told Epstein to "fight for aboriginal release" soon earlier helium was sentenced to 18 months successful prison.

He is besides reported to person told Epstein, "I deliberation the satellite of you", the time earlier the disgraced financier began his jailhouse sentence.

Asked if helium believed helium deserved to beryllium sacked by Sir Keir Starmer, helium replied: "I recognize wherefore I was sacked.

"I recognize wherefore helium took the determination helium did. But 1 happening I'm precise wide astir is I'm not going to question to reopen oregon relitigate this issue. I'm moving on."

Lord Mandelson besides sought to region himself from Epstein, arguing helium was "at the borderline of this man's life" - contempt a handwritten enactment coming to airy from Epstein's 50th day successful 2003 publication where helium described him arsenic his "best pal".

Asked wherefore helium had stuck with Epstein, Lord Mandelson said: "It was a astir unspeakable mistake connected my part. I believed the communicative helium told successful 2008 successful his archetypal indictment successful Florida, I accepted his story, and I privation I hadn't.

"I gave my enactment to idiosyncratic due to the fact that I believed what helium was telling me, and it was misplaced loyalty, but I conscionable person to accidental this to you: portion it's had the astir calamitous consequences for me, the crux of this is not me. The crux of this is not the relationship I had 25 years agone with Jeffrey Epstein.

"The crux of this is that truthful galore hundreds of young women were wholly trapped, powerless successful a strategy that did not perceive to what they had to say."

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Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the programme: "I deliberation what we saw determination successful that interrogation was, astatine best, heavy naivety from Peter Mandelson.

"And I deliberation it would person gone a agelong mode for the women who were subjected to the astir appalling attraction astatine the hands of Jeffrey Epstein for Peter to person apologised and taken that opportunity."

Epstein was recovered dormant successful his compartment astatine a national jailhouse successful Manhattan, New York, successful August 2019 portion helium awaited proceedings connected enactment trafficking charges. His decease was ruled a suicide.