Lord Mandelson finally apologises to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for ‘believing him over them’ – after insisting he didn’t know about the paedophile’s depravity ‘because he’s gay’

Lord Peter Mandelson has finally apologized to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for ‘believing them’ and remaining friends with the convicted pedophile.

The disparaging remark came amid fierce criticism for an interview over the weekend in which he refused to apologize for his own actions and made the extraordinary claim that he was kept in the dark about Epstein’s depravity because he was gay.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight on Monday evening, the Labor member admitted he did not want to be “held responsible” for Epstein’s crimes, for which he was “ignorant and complacent”.

He said: ‘I made a mistake in believing him after his conviction and continuing my relationship with him afterwards.

‘I publicly apologize for doing this to the women and girls who suffered.’

Lord Mandelson was dismissed from his post as US ambassador last September following sickening revelations about his relationship with Epstein.

The emails showed the two were in contact after the financier’s first conviction in 2008, when he pleaded guilty to soliciting 14-year-old girls for prostitution, and Mandelson showered him with messages of support and advice.

In his first television interview since his dismissal as ambassador, to Laura Kuenssberg on BBC One, Mandelson said he did not apologize for maintaining the friendship and insisted he would have done so if he had been “in any way complicit or guilty”.

The former Labor member said he believed he was ‘separated’ from Epstein’s dirty sex life because he was gay and denied seeing young girls at Epstein’s properties.

He only apologized for “the system that refuses to hear their voices,” not for his own behavior.

A cabinet minister told BBC Newsnight that Mandelson was now ‘persona non grata’, while another described his interview as ‘appalling and toe-curling’.

Labour’s Baroness Kennedy also slammed his initial stance, telling BBC Newsnight: ‘I suspect almost every woman listening to this said: ‘But where is your compassion and empathy for the women who were there?’

‘The tragedy is the tragedy of women. This is not Peter Mandelson’s tragedy.’

Despite this, he insisted that Mandelson would maintain his nobility.

In the face of this growing storm, Mandelson was forced to come down and apologize properly last night.

In his statement he added: ‘I was never guilty or complicit in his crimes. Like everyone else, I learned the truth about him after his death.

Mandelson (left) maintained his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein (right) even after his first conviction for soliciting girls for prostitution

Lord Mandelson was hand-picked by Sir Kier Starmer to serve as ambassador to the United States.

‘But his victims knew what he was doing, their voices were not being heard, and I’m sorry I was among those who believed him instead.’

Addressing correspondence between himself and Epstein that emerged last year, Mandelson said Sunday that the “horrible toe-curling messages and emails” were “so embarrassing and made me devastated.”

But he added that he was ‘on the brink of this man’s life’.

‘When I was with him, when I was at his home, I saw nothing in his life that would give me reason to suspect what this evil monster was doing by preying on these young women,’ he said.

Sir Keir Starmer, who handpicked Lord Mandelson as US ambassador before sacking him, said the emails showed the ‘depth and scope’ of his relationship with Epstein and ‘materially differed from what was known at the time of his appointment’.

The Prime Minister had defended Lord Mandelson until the emails emerged.

Asked by Sir Keir whether he deserved to be sacked, Lord Mandelson said: ‘I understand why I was dismissed.’

He added: ‘I understand why he took the decision he did. But one thing I am very clear about is that I will not try to reopen this issue or re-litigate. “I continue on my way.”

Emails show Lord Mandelson told Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

He also reportedly said ‘I’m thinking of you’ to Epstein the day before the disgraced financier began his prison sentence.

Asked whether he had ‘misled’ the Government about his relationship with Epstein before being appointed as US ambassador, Lord Mandelson said the revelation of the emails last year was a ‘huge surprise and a huge shock’ for both him and Downing Street.

“I don’t remember sending them,” he said. ‘I still don’t remember the circumstances or thought processes that led me to post them.

‘They are no longer available on my server, which I have not used for a long time.

‘So it was a shock and a surprise to them, but I couldn’t share with them emails that I didn’t remember and didn’t have.’

Asked why he chose Epstein, Lord Mandelson said: ‘This was a terrible mistake on my part.

‘I believed the story he told during his first indictment in Florida in 2008, I accepted his story, I wish I hadn’t.

‘I supported someone because I believed what they told me and it was misplaced loyalty, but I have to tell you this: even though it had the most disastrous consequences for me, I am not the core of it.

‘The essence of this is not the friendship I had with Jeffrey Epstein 25 years ago. The crux of this is that hundreds of young women are left completely trapped and powerless in a system that does not listen to what they have to say.’