The family of Virginia Giuffre, the most prominent accuser in the Jeffrey Epstein case, have criticized the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States.
Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, and his wife Amanda, said Mandelson’s appointment “speaks to how deep the corruption goes in our systems,” in an interview with the BBC‘s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday—the family’s first U.K. broadcast interview since Giuffre’s death.
Newsweek has contacted the House of Lords and Mandelson’s firm Global Counsel, via email, for comment on his behalf, and the British Prime Minister’s office.
Why It Matters
The criticism comes after Mandelson was fired by Prime Minister Keir Starmer following the release of emails showing Mandelson offering support to Epstein while he faced sex abuse offense charges in 2008.
The family’s public criticism raises questions about the vetting of political appointees, accountability for ties to Epstein and the handling of survivors’ concerns by government institutions, at a moment when U.K.-U.S. relations are in the spotlight ahead of a planned state visit by President Donald Trump.
Senior ministers and opposition parties in Westminster have demanded explanations about what was known during vetting and when.
What To Know
Mandelson was withdrawn as the U.K. ambassador to the United States after emails surfaced showing he wrote to Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 urging him to “fight for early release,” while the disgraced financier awaited sentencing for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Giuffre’s sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts told the BBC: “Why does it take us to have to pull out the skeletons for people to be held accountable? Our governments have allowed these people to hold their status and their title without shame.”
Sky Roberts said Mandelson “should not have been given the position in the first place.” “It speaks to how deep the corruption is in our systems—whether that’s linked to the U.K. or the United States.”
Kuenssberg stressed there is no suggestion that Mandelson ever met Giuffre or was ever introduced to women by Epstein.
Mandelson has always maintained that he did not know anything about Epstein’s abuse, he also went on to say he “deeply regrets” his association with him and told embassy staff he felt “utterly awful about [his] association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims,” according to the BBC.
Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty told Parliament that Mandelson’s emails showed “the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.”
In the emails released on Wednesday, Mandelson told Epstein: “Your friends stay with you and love you.”
“I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened,” he wrote.
“I can still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain. You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.”
The removal occurred days before Trump’s planned state visit to the U.K.
The British deputy head of mission, James Roscoe, will temporarily manage the embassy and arrangements around the visit.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, right, and British ambassador to the United States Lord Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, right, and British ambassador to the United States Lord Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C.
AP
What People Are Saying
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended Mandelson on Wednesday before he was fired, saying the peer had “repeatedly expressed his deep regret” and that he had “confidence in him,” while noting the government moved after reviewing new information.
Lord Peter Mandelson wrote in a letter to embassy staff: “Being ambassador here has been the privilege of my life. The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims.”
What Happens Next
The Foreign Office has placed Roscoe in temporary charge of the embassy, while questions about the vetting process and the timing of disclosures are likely to prompt further parliamentary scrutiny and calls for investigation, according to The Associated Press.
Opposition parties and some within the governing party have demanded explanations of what senior officials knew during vetting and whether further documents remain undisclosed; several have called for an independent review of the appointment process.
Update 9/14/25 1:15 p.m. ET: The headline was updated to clarify the ambassador has been fired.