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Other details have been revealed regarding the 'Epstein' dossier, while the scandal has involved the British ambassador to the United States of America.
Leaked emails show communication between Peter Mandelson and Epstein, treating him as his "best friend" during his "years of torture" over allegations of sexual abuse of teenagers.
While facing charges in June 2008 of inciting the sexual abuse of a minor, Lord Mandelson wrote, “Your friends stand with you and love you.”
Shortly before Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison after a plea deal with Florida prosecutors, Lord Mandelson added: “Fight for early release.”
The revelation comes just hours after the British ambassador, under heavy criticism, warned that new embarrassing correspondence with his former friend would come to light, while he humbly apologized for staying close to the banker for years after his convictions for sexual abuse.
Despite the growing debate over Lord Mandelson's links to Epstein, Sir Keir Starmer gave the diplomat his full support.
The Prime Minister insisted that "due process was followed" in appointing the senior Labour Party figure to the key role, amid growing calls for his dismissal.
In a series of leaked messages circulating in Washington DC, Mandelson wrote: "I think your world and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened. I still can't comprehend it. It simply cannot happen in Britain. You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be as philosophical about it as you can."
The email sent between private email addresses continued: “anything can turn into an opportunity and you will overcome it and be stronger for it.”
"All this has been years of torture and now you have to show the world what a great person and how strong you are."
A separate email showed Mandelson offering strategic advice, citing the ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu.
"Remember. You are fighting, so you need strategy, strategy, strategy. Remember the Art of War."
Lord Mandelson did not dispute the authenticity of the messages, but apologized again, initially in an interview on the show "Harry Cole Saves the West".
Facing a growing backlash over his links to Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019, Lord Mandelson said he "hopefully I'm doing a good enough job as Ambassador here in the United States".
But he admitted for the first time that he stayed with Epstein "for much longer than he should have."
The British ambassador to Washington called him an "albatross around his neck" while expressing his "deep regret" for staying in contact for "many years" with the paedophile financier even after he was convicted of child sex crimes in 2008.
And surprisingly, he suggested that, because he is gay, he may have seen a different side of Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 under a cloud of sex trafficking charges involving teenage girls.
The shocking interview came after the UK's top diplomat in America was revealed to have sent the late banker an emotional 10-page letter in 2003, declaring his love for his "best friend".
Arguing that he had been “duped”, Lord Mandelson said that “I am very sorry that I fell for his lies, that I fell for and accepted the assurances that he had given me in relation to his indictment, his original criminal case in Florida, like many people. I took for granted what he said and looking back, with new information, many years later, we realised that we were wrong to believe that he is a charismatic criminal liar.”
Fighting to save his job after the humiliating revelations, Lord Mandelson claimed he had never seen any "wrongdoing" throughout his long friendship with Epstein, including trips on his private jet and stays at his notorious Caribbean crime hideout.
He suggested that "maybe it's because I'm a gay man" that he was blindsided by Epstein's actions.
"Maybe it's because I'm a gay man, maybe when I knew him all those years, maybe when I was involved with him all those years, as I did with my then partner and now my husband, we never, ever saw any evidence or sign of this activity, which has since come to light," he added. /Adapted from The Sun/
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