By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - The British prime minister said Thursday he is "sorry" for believing former minister Peter Mandelson's "lies" and appointing him as ambassador to the US as pressure continues to build on him after admitting he knew of Mandelson's ongoing ties with Jeffrey Epstein.
"I want to say this: I am sorry. Sorry for what was done to you. Sorry that so many people with power failed you," Keir Starmer said during a news conference in East Sussex.
The prime minister said the victims of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend, and they've had to relive it again and again."
"Sorry for having believed Mandelson's lies and appointed him, and sorry that even now you're forced to watch this story unfold in public once again," he noted.
Starmer's remarks came amid growing pressure on him after acknowledging he was aware of former Cabinet Minister Peter Mandelson’s ongoing friendship with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him last year as the ambassador to the US.
Mandelson was appointed as the British ambassador to the US on Feb. 10 last year but then he was sacked by Starmer on Sept. 11 after emails revealed that Mandelson sent messages of support to Epstein even as the financier was facing jail time for sex offenses in 2008.