{"id":47342,"date":"2026-01-13T02:35:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T02:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=47342"},"modified":"2026-01-13T02:35:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T02:35:45","slug":"ce9yv73klx5oat_mediumrssat_campaignrss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/01\/13\/ce9yv73klx5oat_mediumrssat_campaignrss\/","title":{"rendered":"Mandelson apologises for continuing Epstein friendship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-0 bWRWzH\"><span data-testid=\"byline-contributors\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-11 cOQNNv\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sc-573fa0e8-7 kdBCdE\">Nicholas Watt<!-- -->,<\/span><span data-testid=\"byline-contributors-contributor-0-role-location\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-8 eDNgSC\">Newsnight political editor<\/span><span class=\"sc-573fa0e8-9 keGieE\">and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sc-573fa0e8-7 kdBCdE\">Harry Sekulich<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 eRlINq\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tears-flowers-and-silence-in-Bondi-and-Streetings-fury.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/58e7\/live\/02600160-f00e-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 240w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/58e7\/live\/02600160-f00e-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mandelson-apologises-for-continuing-Epstein-friendship.webp.webp 480w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/58e7\/live\/02600160-f00e-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/58e7\/live\/02600160-f00e-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/58e7\/live\/02600160-f00e-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 1024w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/58e7\/live\/02600160-f00e-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mandelson-apologises-for-continuing-Epstein-friendship.webp.webp?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"BBC Close-up of Peter Mandelson, wearing a black jacket and white button-up shirt and black spectacles, speaking at a BBC studio.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Lord Mandelson has offered a personal apology to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his friendship with the convicted paedophile.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The intervention by the former cabinet minister came after he faced criticism for limiting his apology over the weekend to an apology for system failures that let down the women.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In a statement to BBC Newsnight on Monday evening, Lord Mandelson went further. He said: &#8220;Yesterday, I did not want to be held responsible for his [Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s] crimes of which I was ignorant, not indifferent, because of the lies he told me and so many others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I was wrong to believe him following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologise unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The UK government dismissed Lord Mandelson as its ambassador to the US last September. Downing Street said &#8220;new information&#8221; had emerged relating to the former ambassador&#8217;s friendship with Epstein. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Emails revealed Lord Mandelson had been in contact with Epstein after the American financier&#8217;s first conviction in 2008, where he advised Epstein to clear his name in a string of supportive messages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Epstein&#8217;s first conviction was part of a plea bargain Epstein reached in Florida. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges, including soliciting girls as young as 14 for prostitution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In 2019, Epstein died in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In his first interview since his dismissal as ambassador on BBC One&#8217;s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Lord Mandelson did not apologise for maintaining his friendship with Epstein, insisting that he would have done so if he were &#8220;in any way complicit or culpable&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">During the interview, Mandelson also said he believed he was &#8220;kept separate&#8221; from Epstein&#8217;s sex life because he is gay and denied seeing young girls at Epstein&#8217;s properties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"sc-536eff7b-0 gnQokQ\">Watch: Mandelson initially declined on Sunday to apologise for Epstein emails<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">One cabinet minister told BBC Newsnight that Mandelson was now &#8220;persona non grata&#8221;. Another minister described his interview as &#8220;horrendous and toe curling&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Lord Mandelson has now offered a personal apology after a backlash against his interview with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In his statement to BBC Newsnight, Lord Mandelson said: &#8220;I was never culpable or complicit in his crimes. Like everyone else I learned the actual truth about him after his death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;But his victims did know what he was doing, their voices were not heard and I am sorry I was amongst those who believed him over them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Labour peer Baroness Kennedy told Newsnight on Monday it was &#8220;shocking&#8221; Lord Mandelson had not initially apologised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">She said: &#8220;I think it was shocking to many people that he didn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I&#8217;m glad he&#8217;s come out tonight and at least now is saying that his preoccupation was that people should understand that he did not himself know and had been persuaded.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">She added: &#8220;Somebody like Peter Mandelson should have known better than to go on television and not to be apologising to those women who have suffered so terribly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Mandelson #apologises #continuing #Epstein #friendship<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nicholas Watt,Newsnight political editorand Harry Sekulich BBC Lord Mandelson has offered a personal apology to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47344,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47342\/revisions\/47344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}